WILMINGTON — Ursuline didn’t have many chances to score against Padua in the teams’ season-ending field hockey game on Oct. 28, but the Raiders took advantage of two of them in a 2-1 win at Serviam Field.
The Raiders got the scoring started with 6:59 left in the first quarter. They moved the ball deep to the right of Pandas goalie Taylor Kozink (St. Clare of Assisi Parish, Swedesboro, N.J.). There, Kendall Gulli was able to lift the ball between Kozink and the post. Cameron Aiello (St. John the Beloved Parish) got the assist.
Padua owned possession for much of the quarter but was unable to get anything on Ursuline goalie Jess Kulenguskey (St. John the Beloved Parish). The Pandas were solid on defense, keeping Ursuline from threatening again after the goal. Kulenguskey kept the Raiders in the lead with two saves in the final two minutes of the quarter, one on a penalty corner, the other closing seconds.
After a scoreless second quarter, the Raiders needed less than a minute in the third to add to their lead. This time, a Gulli shot was deflected by Sam Weinert into the cage.
The Pandas took the momentum after that. They earned three penalty corners in the space of a minute, forcing Kulenguskey to make two saves, but they could not get a shot past the goalie. Padua finished the quarter with a personnel advantage following a green card on an Ursuline player, but the Raiders did not surrender anything during the penalty.
Kulenguskey got some help in keeping the lead at a pair in the early going of the fourth. A Pandas shot got behind the goalie, but Weinert was there in front of the cage for a defensive save. The Raiders also fended off several Padua corners. Emme Mulvena (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) got the Pandas on the board with 28 seconds remaining, but they could not repeat that before the horn sounded.
Kulenguskey finished with nine saves. Ursuline finished the season with a record of 8-7.
Padua (4-11) had a 10-5 shot advantage and took nine penalty corners to Ursuline’s five. Kozink finished with three saves.
Photos by Mike Lang.
