WILMINGTON — Rebekah Haney found herself alone at the left corner of the cage and knocked home the decisive goal as Padua began its 2025 field hockey campaign with an entertaining 3-2 win over rival Ursuline on Sept. 3 under the lights at Abessinio Stadium.
The goal, which came with 2:30 to go in the contest, capped a second-half comeback for the Pandas, who trailed, 2-1, at halftime.
Padua controlled momentum in the early going, but neither team could get much going in the way of pressure for the bulk of the first quarter. The Raiders turned a counter-attack into the game’s first goal late in the quarter. Sammie Weinert picked up possession in her own defensive territory and dribbled much of the length of the field. She entered the scoring circle and fired, but Pandas goalie Amelia Romagnoli made the stop. The rebound, however, ended up on the stick of Ursuline’s Katherine Layton, who was able to knock it home with 1:01 to go.
The Raiders’ goalie made a stop early in the second, but the Pandas were able to control the rebound, and they capitalized. Emme Mulvena (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) did the honors, tipping a shot high into the cage with 10:20 to go in the half.
Ursuline had three penalty corners in a two-minute span midway through the second, and they took advantage of the third to go back on top. Romagnoli made a high save on a sharp-angle shot, but the rebound went to Weinert, and she found the short side of the net for the lead.
The Pandas had two penalty corners in the closing minutes of the first half, and they continued to apply pressure into the third quarter. Finally, after a penalty corner with about three minutes left in the quarter, freshman Scarlett Walther emerged from a scrum in front with possession and the first goal of her high school career.
The teams moved up and down the turf throughout the fourth quarter looking for the deciding goal. The Raiders had two corner opportunities but could not take advantage, and Padua forced Ursuline to make a quality stop in the middle of the quarter.
A restart proved to be the difference. Haney positioned herself near the left post, and when the pass found its way through the circle, she didn’t miss the open corner.
Romagnoli had 10 saves for the Pandas. Padua (1-0) visits Tatnall on Friday at 3:45 p.m.
No statistics were available for the Raiders. Ursuline (0-1), which plays its first five games on the road, is at Saint Mark’s on Friday, also at 3:45 p.m.
