September 30, 2007
Eagles Edge Shorewomen, 2-1
Bircsak Scores in Loss for Washington

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Visiting Mary Washington scored once in each half and held off a late charge by host Washington College to come away with a 2-1 non-conference field hockey victory this afternoon on Kibler Field at Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium. The Eagles' evened their record at 6-6 with the win, while the Shorewomen dropped to 4-5 with the loss.

Mary Washington scored the only goal of the first half when Kristen Haynor fired in a goal off an assist from Sarah Pierson during a penalty corner with 10:35 left in the first half. The Eagles held a 6-4 edge in shots in the first period.

Alison Weckstein gave Mary Washington a 2-0 lead when she scored off a feed in front of the goal from Emma Jones with 19:26 left in the game. Eagle goalie Chrissy Bowdren turned away a penalty shot from Washington freshman midfielder/defender Sarah Garber (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) with 10:36 to play. The Shorewomen got on the scoreboard with 3:24 on the clock when sophomore attack Kristin Bircsak (East Windsor, NJ/Hightstown) redirected in shot from freshman midfielder/defender Sarah Garber (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal).

Washington was awarded its final penalty corner with 3:02 to play and got off the final shot with 2:36 remaining, but Bowdren saved the attempt off the stick of WC senior attack Megan Rainey (Severna Park, MD/Archbishop Spalding).

The Shorewomen recorded six of the game's final seven penalty corners and outshot the Eagles, 9-1, over the final 15 minutes of the game, but Mary Washington withstood the charge to preserve the win.

Bowdren made eight saves for the Eagles in the game - six of them coming in final 12 minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper Elena Nicholoff (Tunkhannock, PA/Lackawanna Trail) made 10 stops for the Shorewomen. Washington junior defender Cora Jo Spare (North East, MD/North East) and Haynor each had a defensive save in the game.

Mary Washington held a 15-13 advantage in shots in the game, while Washington enjoyed a 13-8 edge in penalty corners. The one-goal margin of victory in the game represented the fifth straight contest between the two teams to be decided by one goal.

The Shorewomen return to action Tuesday with a 7:00 p.m. home game against St. Mary's (MD).

BOX SCORE