WILMINGTON — Padua’s field hockey team came out in the second half of its DIAA Division I quarterfinal matchup Nov. 11 at No. 2 Wilmington Charter with renewed vigor, but the seventh-seeded Pandas were unable to solve Force goalkeeper Autumn Shahan in a 3-0 Charter victory.
The Force were in control throughout most of the first half, limiting the Pandas to one penalty corner in the first quarter, which resulted in a shot going wide to Shahan’s left. Wilmington Charter got on the board early on, taking advantage of its first penalty corner. Marie Brainard sent a backhand shot toward the Pandas’ goal, and Ellery Underhill was there to knock the ball past Padua goalkeeper Cara Quinlan for the 1-0 lead.
The Force kept the pressure on into the second quarter, earning three corners in quick succession but not connecting on any of them. That changed midway through the stanza, when some hard work by Tess Gatti resulted in one more penalty corner. Rachel Watt’s crossing pass found Gatti open on the right side of the cage, and she scored short side to double the advantage.
Quinlan prevented further damage with a key save later in the second, and the Force missed an opportunity when a penalty stroke went wide right.
A different Pandas team emerged after the half. Just a minute into the quarter, the Pandas sent a shot off the post to Shahan’s left, and the Force were able to stop two follow-up shots. Padua appeared to hit another post a few minutes later, and they earned two corners a few minutes into the third.
Charter delivered a blow with 8:31 remaining in the third, scoring on a counter. Gatti picked up her second goal after a scrum in front of Quinlan and a few whacks at the loose ball. Shahan preserved the shutout with some nice saves in the second half.
The Force had a 6-5 shot advantage and eight penalty corners to five for Padua. Shahan had four saves, and Sophia Meara was credited with a defensive save. Charter improved to 14-2 and will play Smyrna in the semifinals on Tuesday at DE Turf in Frederica at 7 p.m.
Quinlan finished the day with three saves. Padua’s season ended with a record of 7-8-1.
All photos by Jason Winchell.
