Sept. 25, 2010
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA,Pa.--On Saturday afternoon, La Salle Field Hockey defeated the visiting Lehigh Mountain Hawks 3-2 thanks to two goals and and assist from sophomore Rebecca Chylack on a hot and sunny fall afternoon at Hank DeVincent Field.
La Salle fell behind at the 14:15 mark of the first half. Courtesy of a foul on the Explorers, Lehigh took possession, which allowed junior Caitlin Donnelly to get a shot off, only to be stopped by La Salle senior goalkeeper Emma Ruth.
Donnelly capitalized on the rebound that bounced off Ruth, by putting it in the back of the cage for the 1-0 Mountain Hawk advantage.
The Explorers wasted no time. On the ensuing draw, La Salle took over possession. The Explorers were able to bring the ball into Lehigh territory. Chylack, who had a three-point afternoon against the Mountain Hawks, whipped a shot from the top of the arc, only to be deflected off the stick of classmate Maddie Doub on its way into the cage.
With the goal, Doub picked up her third tally of the season, while Chylack was in the early stages of a very productive afternoon for the Explorers, as La Salle responded to the Lehigh goal just 40 seconds later.
Before halftime, the Explorers broke the one-all tie when freshman Haley Jennings set Chylack up with a shot that gave La Salle a 2-1 advantage with 7:28 remaining in the opening half.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead when the teams switched ends of the field for the second half, the Explorers took advantage of a Lehigh mishap. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Miller was out of the goal, where she was caught off guard when Chylack slapped a shot right past her.
Chylack, the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, gave the Explorers a 3-1 lead with her second goal of the afternoon and her fourth tally of the season.
With 7:45 remaining, Donnelly gave Lehigh hope at comeback when she scored her second goal of the day to push La Salle's lead back to a one-goal cushion.
The Mountain Hawks (2-8) threatened to tie the score with less than four minutes remaining when senior Claire Horn ripped a shot just wide of Ruth and the cage. From there, the Explorers called timeout and were able to hang on for the 3-2 victory.
After La Salle dominated the shots category in the first half (11-5), Lehigh had a 12-6 shot advantage in the back half, causing both teams to finish with a total of 17 apiece for the game.
Chylack racked up her second multi-goal game of her La Salle career, as Ruth finished the day with eight saves in goal. The senior goalkeeper is still just one shutout shy of moving into second place on La Salle's all-time list among career shutout leaders.
Saturday's game featured four graduates of Eastern Regional High School in New Jersey. La Salle freshmen Mariel Papa (Berlin, N.J.) and Jessica Deaner (Berlin, N.J.) were former teammates of Lehigh's Marie Mignogna (Voorhees, N.J.). Senior Rachel Deaner (Berlin, N.J.) also attended and played her high school field hockey at Eastern Regional.
La Salle, now 3-5 on the year, will have little time to rejoice in Saturday's victory over Lehigh, because it'll be back in action Sunday when it hosts the Red Flash of St. Francis (Pa.) at 1 p.m. on the turf of Hank DeVincent Field.
