SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After having their original season opener against Lincoln Memorial postponed, the Lander Field Hockey team once again opened their campaign with a trip to Spartanburg to face the defending conference champion, Converse Valkyries. A Mollie McGann goal in the first quarter gave the Blue and Gold an early lead but the hosts scored the last three goals of the game to hand Lander a 3-1 loss on Tuesday evening in the Hub City.
The first half was a fairly even affair with each team taking four shots and converting on one of them.Â
The Bearcats would strike first as
Mollie McGann would find the back of the cage in a scrum in front of goal just over 11 minutes in to give Lander the 1-0 advantage after the first 15 minutes of play. However, Converse would strike five minutes into the second quarter to knot the game up at one heading into the halftime break.
The third quarter was dominated by the Bearcats who put up three shots and forcing one save but unfortunately could not find the breakthrough they were looking for as the game went into the last 15 minutes tied at one.Â
The tide would shift, however, just after the quarter break as Converse would sneak one into the goal to give them the lead just over a minute into the fourth. Lander would push and push to find the tying goal with several close opportunities in the circle but Converse would put the game away with a goal at just past the 50 minute mark to give them the 3-1 lead and win.
Aniek Vreeken led the team with four shots, while Mollie McGann put up two of her own. Isabel Elenga made a save in the fourth quarter.
The Blue and Gold return to action on Saturday as they will face the Belmont Abbey Crusaders in a South Atlantic Conference match at 2:00 PM at Frank Hill Stadium.
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