Saturday, September 6
Davidson, N.C.
3:00
Davidson College
4
vs
2
VCU
Three First-Half Goals Propel Field Hockey to 4-2 Victory over VCU
9/6/2008 5:00:39 PM | Field Hockey
Box Score
The View From Press Row: Do you think we can Fly?
DAVIDSON, N.C. – For the second straight game, the Davidson Field Hockey team took a two-goal lead into halftime and never looked back, sweeping their weekend action in a row via a 4-2 victory over VCU Saturday afternoon at Belk Turf Field.
Wildcat Head Coach Ginny Sutton was impressed by the way her team played in all aspects and for all 70 minutes of the game.
“I think its the best we played all season,” she said. “We passed well, we all connected as a team, we were all on the same page. On all ends of the field we played as a team and played at a very high level.”
Davidson was led by freshman Kate van der Ven, who turned in a career performance, assisting on a pair of goals and scoring what turned out to be the game winning goal, her first career strike. She also led all players with four shot attempts in the game, pushing her season total to a team-high 13 shots.
After VCU opened the scoring in the 22nd minute of the game, Davidson tied the score when senior Britti Himelfarb gathered a van der Ven pass in front of the goal and fired a shot through the crowd and past the Ram goalkeeper. It was Himelfarb's first goal of the season and the sixth of her career.
Just over three minutes later, the Wildcats took the lead for good off a tap in by van der Ven off a scramble for the ball in front of the goal following a penalty corner and pass from senior Tyler Kirkland. Then, at the 28:34 mark of the first half, sophomore Clare Perry scored off a deep run and pass across the goal by van der Ven, putting Davidson up 3-1 going into halftime. With the score, Perry became the first Wildcat to record more than one goal this season.
VCU brought it back to a one-goal game when they scored at the 50-minute mark on a shot that traveled the length of the penalty circle before finding the stick of Lindsay Jones for the score.
Davidson regained their two-score lead with three minutes remaining in the game when Kirkland notched her first career multi-point game, collecting a rebounded shot and redirecting the ball into the back of the cage.
As a team, Davidson dominated the stat sheet, out-shooting the Rams by an 11-4 margin, including 7-3 in the first half. They also had three more penalty corners than VCU, finishing with six to the Rams' three. In keeping with a season-long theme, all four goals were scored by a different player, giving six players at least one goal on the year, all statistics that Sutton likes to see.
“It's great to have four different people score a goal today,” she said. “It shows how hard we've been working as a team all week and were able to put everything together today. Finally scoring on a corner is an example of one aspect of the game we've worked hard on lately that paid off today.
With the win, Davidson moves their season record back to an even 2-2, and stays perfect at home so far. They also handed VCU their first loss of the year, with the Rams coming into the day with a 3-0 mark.
The 'Cats open up conference play next weekend when they travel to Farmville, Va. to take on fellow NorPac member Longwood. Game time for the matchup is set for 6 p.m.
The View From Press Row: Do you think we can Fly?
DAVIDSON, N.C. – For the second straight game, the Davidson Field Hockey team took a two-goal lead into halftime and never looked back, sweeping their weekend action in a row via a 4-2 victory over VCU Saturday afternoon at Belk Turf Field.
Wildcat Head Coach Ginny Sutton was impressed by the way her team played in all aspects and for all 70 minutes of the game.
“I think its the best we played all season,” she said. “We passed well, we all connected as a team, we were all on the same page. On all ends of the field we played as a team and played at a very high level.”
Davidson was led by freshman Kate van der Ven, who turned in a career performance, assisting on a pair of goals and scoring what turned out to be the game winning goal, her first career strike. She also led all players with four shot attempts in the game, pushing her season total to a team-high 13 shots.
After VCU opened the scoring in the 22nd minute of the game, Davidson tied the score when senior Britti Himelfarb gathered a van der Ven pass in front of the goal and fired a shot through the crowd and past the Ram goalkeeper. It was Himelfarb's first goal of the season and the sixth of her career.
Just over three minutes later, the Wildcats took the lead for good off a tap in by van der Ven off a scramble for the ball in front of the goal following a penalty corner and pass from senior Tyler Kirkland. Then, at the 28:34 mark of the first half, sophomore Clare Perry scored off a deep run and pass across the goal by van der Ven, putting Davidson up 3-1 going into halftime. With the score, Perry became the first Wildcat to record more than one goal this season.
VCU brought it back to a one-goal game when they scored at the 50-minute mark on a shot that traveled the length of the penalty circle before finding the stick of Lindsay Jones for the score.
Davidson regained their two-score lead with three minutes remaining in the game when Kirkland notched her first career multi-point game, collecting a rebounded shot and redirecting the ball into the back of the cage.
As a team, Davidson dominated the stat sheet, out-shooting the Rams by an 11-4 margin, including 7-3 in the first half. They also had three more penalty corners than VCU, finishing with six to the Rams' three. In keeping with a season-long theme, all four goals were scored by a different player, giving six players at least one goal on the year, all statistics that Sutton likes to see.
“It's great to have four different people score a goal today,” she said. “It shows how hard we've been working as a team all week and were able to put everything together today. Finally scoring on a corner is an example of one aspect of the game we've worked hard on lately that paid off today.
With the win, Davidson moves their season record back to an even 2-2, and stays perfect at home so far. They also handed VCU their first loss of the year, with the Rams coming into the day with a 3-0 mark.
The 'Cats open up conference play next weekend when they travel to Farmville, Va. to take on fellow NorPac member Longwood. Game time for the matchup is set for 6 p.m.
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