DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – The Delaware Valley field hockey team hosted Gwynedd Mercy to kick off the season on Wednesday evening, defeating the Griffins 1-0.
Maggie Fijal fired off the first shot of the game tallying three in the opening quarter while newcomer
Caylen Taylor added a shot to the Aggies' tally. The Griffins saw the only corner attempt of the frame 14 minutes, but
Gracyn Shutt and the Aggies defense remained strong stopping the back-to-back shot attempts.
DelVal applied pressure in the second quarter, earning three penalty corner opportunities. On the first, the Aggies worked the ball to the top of the circle and fired a shot into the cage, but the goal was called back due to an interference foul. DelVal earned another corner shortly after, with
Jillian Collins inserting the ball from the left side. The Aggies moved it across the top to
Kylie Conley, who worked the ball toward the front of the cage before the defense cleared the threat. On the third attempt, DelVal generated another shot from the top of the circle that went wide as the teams headed into halftime still locked in a scoreless tie.
The scoreless battle continued through the third quarter, with the Aggies' defense coming up big in the closing minute. Gwynedd Mercy's Allyssa Seifert broke free toward the cage, but
Savannah Weaver halted the initial threat before
Jillian Collins blocked the follow-up attempt to preserve the 0-0 tie heading into the final quarter.
The Aggies finally broke through in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on a penalty corner to take the lead.
Caylen Taylor delivered the insert to Conley at the top of the circle, who sent the ball across to
Darby Rusk on the far side for the finish and a 1-0 DelVal advantage. Gwynedd Mercy made one final push in the closing seconds, creating a scramble in front of the cage, but Shutt and the Aggies' defense held strong to preserve the shutout and seal the 1-0 victory.
Maggie Fijal paced the Aggies' offense with a team-high five shots, while Conley and Weaver each put two attempts on goal. Weaver also contributed on the defensive end with the Aggies' lone defensive save of the contest. In the cage, Shutt played all 60 minutes and recorded three saves to preserve the shutout.
DelVal returns to action this Saturday, Sep. 5 at home taking on Albright at 10 a.m.
