WILMINGTON — Senior Day for the Ursuline field hockey team had special meaning in 2023. The school honored 20 seniors before the Raiders’ game against St. Elizabeth, fully two-thirds of the girls on the roster.
The good vibes carried over into the game. Six different seniors scored, three combined for four assists, and goalie Elizabeth Ciarlo, another 12th-grader, posted the shutout in a 6-0 victory at Serviam Field.
After the pregame ceremony, the Raiders got right to work against the Vikings. Ursuline had five penalty corners in a four-minute span but was not able to capitalize, but they did strike at the 6:21 mark. A shot was stopped by the St. Elizabeth defense, but Mimi Monigle corralled the rebound and sent it toward the goal line, and Bella Tesche knocked it in for the 1-0 lead. They kept the pressure on, and two minutes later, Noelle Barnak redirected a crossing pass into the cage.
Vikings goalie Aisling Donahue made several stops throughout the second, keeping her team within striking distance. But Gabriella Guerke took advantage with 4:10 to go in the half, knocking in a goal after the Raiders had gotten behind the Vikings’ defense.
St. E’s was able to mount a little offensive pressure early in the third quarter, but the Raiders gradually swung the momentum. Donahue came up big a few more times in net, but she could not stop a blast from Grace Sill from the top of the circle on a penalty corner. Monigle assisted on that one as well.
Loghan Dougherty scored, with an assist to Mary Querey, and Alexandra Lundgren added the final goal, with Sill picking up the assist, toward the end of the third.
Ursuline finished with 18 shots and an 8-1 edge in penalty corners. The Raiders (3-6) take on Padua on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at the Chase Fieldhouse.
Donahue had 12 saves for the Vikings, who fell to 4-6. They are at Delaware Military on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
All photos by Mike Lang.
