Dan Sherman
Asst. SID
Juniata College
814-641-3513
Madison, NJ., The Juniata College field hockey team began Landmark Conference play with a 6-3 defeat over the Drew Rangers this past weekend in New Jersey. Coach Gillich's offense came alive, with five different Eagles scoring on the day.
The Blue and Gold took an early 2-0 lead sixteen minutes into the game when Sarah Bilheimer (Bethlehem, Pa. / Freedom) crossed the ball in front of the net to find Brittani LaFollete (Baltimore, Md. / Sparrows Point) who scored her first collegiate goal. A few minutes before, Bilheimer assisted freshman Katie Alexander (Mifflinburg, Pa. / Mifflinburg) to put the Eagles on the board. Drew came back quickly, retaliating on a corner, cutting the lead down to one shortly after the second goal. Allison Groft (Hanover, Pa. / South Western) scored her fifth goal of the season minutes before the half to give Juniata its second two point cushion of the game.
Leading 3-1 at the half, the Eagles continued to attack the Drew cage in the second thirty-five minutes of play. After outshooting the Rangers 11-3 in the first half, Juniata added seven more, scoring on three of them. Bilheimer scored her second goal of the season, while teammate Brittany Meier (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa. / State College Area) scored her fourth in three games. Groft would add a second goal on the day. She currently leads the team with six.
Coach Gillich was very happy with the outcome of the contest, stating that it was a "tremendous performance across the board," and "an exciting start to conference play." The coach noted that senior Mikaela Sloan (State College Pa. / State College) had a strong day for the Eagles, as did the defense, with Kelsey Leibelsperger (Fleetwood, Pa. / Fleetwood) blocking two shots. Senior goalies Shelby Miller (Pottstown, Pa. / Owen J. Roberts) and Julianne Jones (Middleburg, Pa. / Midd-West) each played well in the cage for Juniata.
The Eagles are now 6-2 on the season and 1-0 in Landmark Conference play. They play again on Wednesday, traveling to Washington and Jefferson for a 7 p.m. contest.
