By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College field hockey improved to 2-0 in the Landmark Conference by defeating Susquehanna University 1-0 in its conference home opener Wednesday afternoon. The win marked the Eagles first shutout of the season. Juniata is now 6-7 overall, while the crusaders fell to 6-3, 0-3 in the Landmark.
"It was another great conference battle," said head coach Caroline Gillich of the win. "Susquehanna came out really hard and our team was able to quickly find some solutions to create openings and utilize those openings to gain advantages on attacks. It was exciting to get our first shutout."
Freshman Rachel Weigel (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) earned the game winner halfway through the second half. She played a ball off the keeper's pads and into the back of the cage. The strike was the first goal of her career and the team's 21st of the season.
"Rachel is one of those pure attack type of players that just wants to shoot," said Gillich. "Whenever she gets the ball, she knows right where the goal is and she wants to put her stick on it. Today it was a one-time shot that did it."
Junior Shelby Miller (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) earned the win after spending nearly 43 minutes in the cage. The Eagles defense shut down Susquehanna while the offense unloaded on Crusader goalkeeper Margaret Ruth. Juniata outshot Susquehanna 13-6, 11-3 on goal and earned seven penalty corners to the Crusaders four.
Senior Emma Dahmus (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) finished with a game-high five shots, four on goal, and junior Mikaela Sloan (State College, Pa./State College) earned her best on-goal percentage of the year, taking a season-high three shots with all three on-goal.
"This was the best game Mikaela has played this season," added Gillich. "Her back, mid, and forward game was phenomenal."
The Eagles travel to Goucher College for their next contest. Juniata is 6-0 all-time against the Gophers, outscoring them 30-3 across the series history. The Eagles won (3-1) their last time in Towson. This will be their third trip inside the beltway.
Follow Your Eagles! Stay up-to-date on your Juniata College Eagles by logging onto www.juniatasports.net. And don't forget to follow us on twitter (@JuniataEagles) and on Facebook (Juniata Eagles).
