Bridgewater, Va.- The Shenandoah Hornets defeated the Bridgewater women’s soccer team in the quarterfinals of the ODAC tournament on Nov. 1, losing in penalty kicks 5-4. The Bridgewater field hockey team fell to the Roanoke Maroons 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the ODAC tournament.

Women’s Soccer

Eagles lose 5-4 in penalty kicks against the Hornets

The Hornets came out aggressive and had the first chance of the game. 

Shenandoah’s Kayla Jenkins had a chance, but was denied by junior Carlee Gaboury. Elizabeth McGee followed up the rebound with a shot, but Gaboury was there again to make the save. 

The Hornets got a shot off after, but it was wide of the goal. 

The Hornets continued to keep the pressure up by getting two more shots off in the first half, which were both saved by Gaboury. 

The Eagles had only two shots heading into the end of the first half. In minute 43, the Eagles had a corner kick that was taken by senior Hannah Randolph.

Junior Maren Doughtery was able to control the corner and played it back to first-year Lyric Birkley who volleyed it out of the air and buried it into the back of the goal to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. 

The Eagles came out of halftime applying the pressure. The Hornets received a yellow card early in the second half, and Birkely stepped up and took the free kick just over the crossbar. 

In minute 59, Gaboury again was there to make another save. The Eagles then went down the field and first-year Kendall Garza had a chance, but Karissa Dominick was able to deny it. 

The Hornets came back down the field and Mcgee took a shot from outside the box to score and tied the game up at 1-1

The Eagles had another chance to score in the final minutes as senior Madison Crooks had a chance, but her shot was just over the crossbar. 

In the first overtime, the Hornets had an early opportunity, but Gaboury was there to deny the chance. The Eagles then had a corner kick as junior Ashley Sabatino had a chance, but Dominick was there to deny the shot. 

In the second overtime, the Eagles had an early chance coming off of a corner kick when junior Skyler Daum had a shot but was blocked. Birkley had two chances but was not able to convert. 

In penalty kicks, both teams could not pull away until the last round. Senior Kaia Richardson was the last one to take a penalty kick for the Eagles and was not able to convert. 

Kristina Skulte stepped up and buried her penalty kick to win the game and advance the Hornets. 

Bridgewater women’s soccer ends the year at 13-4-1 and 9-1 in conference play. They now wait to see if they will get in at a large bid to the NCAA tournament. 

“The season went well; we finished first in the conference,” said junior Hannah Nugent. “Our team had great energy this year, as we came from Europe, which helped us connect as a team. Then added the first-years, who blended in with our team dynamic very well. Sadly, we lost in the first rounds of the playoffs, which we weren’t expecting to happen. We will remember what happened and do what we can to get back to where we were this season.”

Field Hockey

The Eagles lose 2-1 to the Maroons

The Maroons came out aggressive and had the first chances of the game. They got a shot off from a penalty corner, but the shot was just wide of the cage. 

The Maroons received two more shots off afterward, while holding the Eagles without a shot in the first quarter. 

Although not having a shot in the first quarter, the Eagles were able to take a 1-0 lead from sophomore Emily Tyler just seven minutes into the second quarter. 

The Maroons quickly responded with three shots, as one hit the post and was followed up again with another shot. Senior Meredyth Rankin was there to deny the rebound. 

The Maroons then had a penalty corner which the Eagles were able to block, but Saige Bullock was able to put one past the Eagles, tying the game up at 1-1. 

Halfway through the third quarter, the Eagles got a penalty corner and were able to get a shot on goal off, but it was saved. The Maroons quickly turned around and came down the field as Bullock scored again, giving the Maroons a 2-1 lead. 

The Eagles kept applying the pressure in the last few minutes of the game, getting two penalty corners and a couple of shots off. However, they were not able to convert, and the Maroons won 2-1. 

Bridgewater field hockey ends the year at 6-10, with a record of 3-5 in conference play. They finished the year fifth in ODAC standings.