Big Second Half Lifts Bison Field Hockey to 5-2 Win Over Notre Dame
Sept. 20 – BALTIMORE, Md. - The Bethany field hockey team scored three unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Notre Dame of Maryland 5-2 on Sunday morning.
The Bison (3-5) were the aggressors early, but the Green & White found themselves with a 2-0 deficit after 19 minutes of play. The Gators (1-3), however, would have little to celebrate after their early success.
In the 26th minute, sophomore Bailey Boardman (La Verne, Calif./Bonita) scored her first goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game.
The Bison tied the game two minutes before the first intermission, as sophomore Morgan Turner (Frederick, Md./Frederick) took a pass from Boardman and beat Notre Dame goalkeeper De'Ja Martin.
The second half completely belonged to Bethany. Turner tallied another goal in the 39th minute to make it a 3-2 game. This marked the second consecutive contest that Turner scored, and the Bison wouldn't look back in this one.
Just four minutes later, senior Courtney Gill (Little Egg Harbor, N.J./Pinelands Regional) found the back of the net after receiving a pass from Amanda Henson (Bristol, Pa./Bristol), who earned the assist on the play.
Junior Lauren Rao (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Sweet Home) finished off the scoring for the Bison, adding a goal in the 52nd minute for her second score of the season and a 5-2 advantage. Gill found Rao inside the offensive circle, and the senior tallied her second assist of the year.
The Bison were led offensively by Rao, who recorded 11 shots in the contest. Gill and Turner totaled six shots of their own, as the Bison finished with 31 shots in the game. The shot total is the highest for the Bison field hockey program since the reboot in 2012.
After the early goals for the Gators, Bethany goaltender Courtney Snyder (Bristol, Pa./Bristol) kept the Notre Dame offense at bay. The senior tallied four saves on the day.
Bethany will return to the field on Saturday, September 26 when they travel to Chambersburg, Pa. to take on Wilson College.
