Shorewomen Knock Off Mary Washington in Thriller

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Senior attack Kelsey Kemp (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) scored the game-winning goal with 5:31 remaining in the game as host Washington College defeated visiting Mary Washington, 2-1, in a non-conference field hockey game this afternoon on Kibler Field at Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium. The Shorewomen improved to 4-4 overall with the win, while the Eagles fell to 6-4 with the loss.

The Shorewomen scored on the first shot of the game as senior attack Kristin Bircsak (East Windsor, NJ/Hightstown) converted a pass inside the circle from sophomore midfielder Gussie Reilly (Buck Hill Falls, PA/Mercersburg Academy) just 3:01 into the contest. The Eagles tied things up with 14:37 to play in the first half when Florence George scored off an assist from Heidi Sheehan following a penalty corner.

Kemp's goal capped off an exciting sequence initiated by sophomore attack Emily Trees (Kensington, MD/Connelly School of the Holy Child). Trees used a terrific move to beat a Mary Washington defender near midfield and raced up field where she found Bircsak for a shot. Bircsak's shot was saved by Mary Washington goalkeeper Chrissy Bowdren, but Bircsak tracked the ball down to the right of the cage and sent a pass into the middle to Kemp, who lifted the shot in.

Senior goalkeeper Elena Nicholoff (Tunkhannock, PA/Lackawanna Trail) made eight saves for Washington. Her first save of the game was the 500th of her career. She is now 15 saves away from the school career record of 522 set by All-American Toby Wilmet from 1997-2000. Bowdren made five saves in the loss for the Eagles.

Mary Washington held 14-9 advantages in both shots and penalty corners in the game.

The Shorewomen, who have won back-to-back one-goal games following back-to-back one-goal losses, return to action Tuesday with a 4:30 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Swarthmore.