HOCKESSIN – On the surface, Ursuline’s 7-0 field hockey shutout of St. Elizabeth on Sept. 21 looks like not much positive happened for the Vikings, But St. E’s may have found a building block for this season and next.
Junior goalkeeper Jazmine Winters, who not too long ago had never suited up in goal, made 31 saves against the Raiders at Hockessin Montessori School. She was kept busy in all sorts of ways, knocking shots away with her legs, her arms and her stick.
The Raiders were in control from the jump, keeping the ball in their offensive end throughout the first half. Anna Shearer opened the scoring five and a half minutes in. Jane Lyons added to the lead, taking a pass from Caroline Taylor after a steal on a restart.
Winters kicked away a subsequent attempt, and the Vikings survived a penalty corner. A St. Elizabeth defender was called for a violation on a high shot a few minutes later, and Lyons increased the lead to three on a penalty stroke.
The Raiders kept it coming on a flurry of penalty corners, but the defense and Winters were stout. The Vikings did manage one offensive chance just before halftime, but their shot rolled wide.
Winters kept the hits coming in the second half, adding two more saves in the first minute alone. She added a few more before Julie Copeman sent a wicked backhand whistling into the cage at the 17:13 mark.
The Raiders potted another pair of goals in an 86-second span, the first by Copeman on a rebound, the second from Jordan Kenney, also on a rebound. Eighth-grader Bella Dell’Oso scored the final marker on a penalty corner on the final play of the day.
Ursuline improved to 4-0, outshooting St. Elizabeth, 38-2, and earning 22 penalty corners to none. The Raiders are scheduled to play Sussex Academy on Monday at 3:45 p.m. at Serviam Field, field conditions permitting. St. Elizabeth (1-2) hosts Padua on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. at Hockessin Montessori.
