McDaniel Field Hockey opened Centennial Conference action with a 3-1 loss to Muhlenberg on Friday.
The Green Terror (1-5, 0-1) entered the game looking for their first Conference opener win against the Mules (5-0, 1-0) since 2014.
McDaniel’s Haley VanNostrand scored the Terror’s lone goal in the 38th minute, unassisted.
Muhlenberg’s Rachel Strow led the field, scoring all three of the Mules’ goals. The senior tallied six shots on goal, just one shy of all the Green Terror combined.
With sophomore Christina Gooding in goal, McDaniel started off the game against the powerhouse Mules with over 21 minutes of scoreless play.
Seconds into the 21st minute, Strow hit her first goal, a rebound off of a save by McDaniel’s Paige West.
VanNostrand evened the score at 1-1 two minutes into the second half, her second goal of the season.
Strow scored her second goal 12 minutes later with an assist from teammate Anna Kennedy.
The senior’s third and final goal would come in the 67th minute, sealing the game for the Mules.
Terrors Gabrielle Yore, Megan Quattrone, and Sarah Bach combined for five of McDaniel’s shots with VanNostrand making up the remaining two.
Behind Strow, Taylor Smith, Stephi Rydgren, Emily Davis, Emily Boyle, and Alyssa Scott added to the Mules’ 17 shots.
In goal for the entire 70 minutes, Gooding saved seven of 10 shots on goal. McDaniel saved two of two shots on goal as a team.
Muhlenberg goalkeeper Emma Rosenthal saved five of six shots on goal, playing the entirety of the game.
The Mules outshot the Terror 17-7, 12 of which came in the second half, compared to four of McDaniel’s.
Penalty corners were even more uneven, as the Mules tallied 20 to the Terror’s three, a subject that Head Coach Melissa Jones touched on after the game.
“They were corner happy, they were just giving corners,” said Jones about the officials after the game.
Jones also touched on the fact that Muhlenberg is a top team in the Centennial Conference and that she has a very young team.
“I’m very proud of the way they played tonight,” Jones continued, saying that she was looking forward to the rest of the season and expecting a lot out of her team.
McDaniel returns to action next Saturday at Bryn Mawr (0-4). Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.
The next Terror home game is set for the following Wednesday against Franklin & Marshall (3-1) at 7:00 p.m.
