After a hard fought 3-2 overtime loss Friday night on a wet field against Delaware, the VCU field hockey team responded by thumping Towson Sunday, 5-1 for its first conference win of 2009.
“One of the best things about this team of girls right now is that we have the ability to come back from diversity,” said coach Kelly McQuade. “I think their mental strength right now is just continuing to grow.”
The Rams did not take long to get on the scoreboard as they capitalized on their first penalty corner of the day.
With 22:43 remaining in the first half, Hannah Lyerly (Williamsburg) sent a corner to the top of the circle where it was flicked up in the air by Flore Van Dessel (Oisterwijk, Holland) and hit into the back of the goal by Rachel Krumm (Norfolk).
The goal was Krumm’s second of the season.
“(I had a) straight shot, I put everything into it, I don’t know what happened . And it was just so fast I guess the goalie couldn’t stop it,” Krumm said.
About nine minutes later, VCU took advantage of a loose ball in front of the net, freshman Chelsea Hill (Virginia Beach) saw an open net and knocked it in to put her team ahead 2-0.
The goal was the first of Hill’s college career.
“It was awesome to get a goal,” Hill said.
The second half would prove to be a continuance of the Rams’ domination on Sunday.
Krumm knocked home her second goal of the day with 29:27 left in the half on a similar play to her first goal.
This one also came off a penalty corner.
The momentum would be completely on the Rams side with 24 minutes left in the game as freshman goalie Megan Botteri (Mount Bethel, Pa.) made a diving stop on a penalty stroke for Towson.
“Strokes are very difficult because they’re so hard for a keeper anyway; you just have to guess a side and try to see which way they are going to go. But that was just huge,” McQuade said.
Two more goals from freshman sensation Kelsey Scherrer (Chesapeake) and junior Marle Van Dessel (Oisterwijk, the Netherlands) respectively, put the final nail in the coffin as VCU cruised to a 5-1 victory.
The win avenged a heart-breaking double overtime loss the Rams suffered at the hands of the Tigers in their last meeting.
With the win, VCU moves to 6-2 on the season, and 1-1 in conference play. They travel to Drexel for a conference game against the defending champion on Friday in Philadelphia.
The team does not return to Richmond for a game until a showdown with Davidson on Oct. 11.