BRANDYWINE HUNDRED – Padua scored three times over the final 11:34 of the first half to defeat William Penn, 3-0, in nonconference field hockey Oct. 1 at Forbes Field. The Pandas remained undefeated with the win.
The Colonials, who saw a three-game unbeaten streak come to an end, played Padua evenly throughout the first half, although that is not reflected in the numbers. Padua piled up the penalty corners and sent more shots on goal, but for the first 19 minutes it did not matter. One of the reasons was Penn goalkeeper Schuler Stark, whose acrobatic play was key. Stark’s best save came early in the first half, when she stoned Karson Curran one-on-one from point-blank range.
The Pandas finally broke through with 11:34 to go in the half. Angela Taglione did the damage for Padua, pilfering the ball from a Colonial, chipping it past a defender and blasting the ball waist-high into the cage.
After a Colonials corner, the Pandas stormed back with three straight of their own, and the third was the charm. The ball was inbounded to Grace Mercer, who sent a crossing pass to Caitlin Stoddard. She lifted the ball high into the net with 5:03 to go.
Padua earned one more corner with just a few seconds to go in the half. The referee reminded the players to keep playing through the horn since the ball isn’t dead until a goal is scored or the defense takes possession. So, a few seconds after the horn, Anna Getty took the inbounds pass from Taglione and fired one along the grass and in for the final tally of the afternoon.
Padua finished with 14 corners to the Colonials’ six, and they outshot their opponent, 12-1. The Pandas (4-0) travel to St. Mark’s on Wednesday for a 3:45 p.m. start.
William Penn (1-4-2) will visit Rising Sun (Md.) Thursday at 4 p.m.
