WILMINGTON — Ursuline’s stingy defense held the aggressive Saint Mark’s field hockey team to one goal in the first half of the teams’ season-opening game on Sept. 7, but the Spartans broke it open in the second half on the way to a 7-0 shutout at Serviam Field. Katie Hanich was the offensive star, scoring four goals and adding an assist for Saint Mark’s.
The Spartans controlled the ball from the outset, pressuring the Raiders into three penalty corners in the first four minutes of the contest. But the Ursuline goalkeeper was solid, turning away chance after chance, and also getting a bit of good fortune as a few attempts were deflected wide.
Keiran Haywood was the only player able to find a hole in the Raiders’ defense in the first half. She sent a backhanded shot to the short side of the cage with 5:40 to go for the season’s first goal.
Saint Mark’s nearly doubled its lead midway through the second, but Ursuline’s Grace Sill came up with a clutch defensive stop behind her keeper.
The Spartans kept the pressure on as the second half unfolded, and it paid dividends. The Raiders’ keeper made four saves in the early going of the third quarter, but Hanich scored her first with 9:49 remaining. Five minutes later, she took an outlet pass, got ahead of the Raiders and went far side to extend the lead to 3-0. Hanich ended the scoring in the third with 1:!5 to go, blasting a laser from near the top of the circle on a penalty corner.
Hanich kept it going on the Spartans’ first corner opportunity of the fourth, taking a pass from Peyton Crone and sending a shot that was deflected in. Haywood added one more, and Brynn Eyler scored the last goal of the afternoon with less than two minutes to go.
Jenna League stopped three Raiders shots to pick up the win for Saint Mark’s (1-0). The Spartans, who had 14 shots, take on St. Elizabeth on Friday at 3:45 p.m. at Hockessin Montessori School.
Ursuline (0-1) hosts Sussex Central on Friday at 4 p.m.
All photos by Mike Lang.
