Ben Martindale, Sports Editor
VCU women’s field hockey lost a hard-fought matchup to the University of Delaware on Sunday at Cary St. Field. The Rams entered the matchup having won three of their last four, including a 4-3 victory vs. Davidson College two days prior to Sunday’s matchup.
The first quarter was competitive, with neither team able to punch in the opening goal.
Delaware nearly broke the tie a minute and a half into the second quarter, ricocheting a shot off the upper right corner of the goal, but after review, the goal was waived off and the score remained tied at zero.
The Blue Hens nearly scored again with eight minutes remaining in the quarter, but a diving save from third-year VCU goalkeeper Emma Clements foiled the Delaware attempt.
Delaware’s attack-first style paid off when second-year Amanda Rattay scored to give the Blue Hens the lead.
VCU started the second half with more energy and quickly put Delaware on the defensive. Three minutes later, VCU first-year Julia Spohr scored a goal of their own, evening the score at one goal apiece.
In the final quarter, the two teams refused to give an inch to the other, both squads getting opportunities to score but neither able to capitalize.
With just under nine minutes remaining, Spohr found an opening and quickly attempted back-to-back shots on goal, but Delaware second-year Gabrielle Prentice saved both.
At the 4:15 mark of the final quarter, Delaware delivered what would become the game-winning goal, dealing VCU the defeat in a hard-fought, physical game.
Despite the loss, Clements was pleased with the Rams’ growth.
“It might not be the result we were looking for, but we definitely learned the lesson that we were looking for,” said Clements. “We tried a new press today and it worked so well, and these are the kind of non-conference games that you want to try new things on.”
VCU’s loss to Delaware was the team’s final non-conference matchup of the season. The Rams will put their 4-0 conference record on the line with matchups against Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Richmond to finish out their regular season schedule.