Box Score
BRIDGEWATER, Va. – In its home and Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opener on Saturday afternoon at Mapp Field, the Bridgewater Eagles field hockey team scored three second-half goals to break a halftime deadlock in a 4-1 victory over visiting Virginia Wesleyan (4-4, 1-1 ODAC).
The win for the Eagles (4-3, 1-0 ODAC) was their third straight and puts BC above .500 on the season.
After an early barrage from the Bridgewater offense, it was the visiting Marlins who got on the board first when Tanya Puccio stuck a shot in the back of the cage off of a rebound to put Virginia Wesleyan up 1-0 in the 18th minute.
Things settled down following the Virginia Wesleyan goal before the Eagles earned a corner late in the 24th minute.
Junior Megan Gould's insert went to the point and a hard shot from Colleen Dickson was deflected into the net by Gould, knotting the game up at a goal each at the 24:13 mark.
Both teams had opportunities to break the deadlock over the final 10-plus minutes of the first half, but the game would go into the intermission at a 1-1 tie.
Despite the even score at the break, Bridgewater dominated the first half, outshooting the Marlins by a 12-to-4 margin.
Out of the intermission, the Eagles wasted little time regaining the lead when freshman Taylor Prillaman netted a goal off of a rebound from a Kelly Ryan shot to put Bridgewater up 2-1 just 19 seconds into the second frame.
Bridgewater added to its advantage two and a half minutes later when Prillaman stuck her second goal of the game in the back of the cage off of a centering pass from Ryan to put the Eagles up 3-1 at the 38:04 mark.
Virginia Wesleyan looked to answer the Bridgewater rally as the Marlins ratcheted up their effort on the offensive end, but it was Bridgewater adding the next goal when Ryan got on the board off of a rebound from a Rachael Loy shot to put the Eagles ahead 4-1 which is how the game would end.
Bridgewater controlled the second half to own a 23-to-8 advantage in shots, behind Prillaman's two-goal effort. The freshman has seven goals on the season to sit in second place in the ODAC in goals scored. Prillaman paced the offense with six shots while senior Joan Burleson added five shots in the win.
The Marlins were paced offensively by Taylor Lober's four-shot effort.
In the cage, junior Jessica Balsano recorded three saves to earn the victory, while Virginia Wesleyan's Kirsten Olsen allowed four goals and posted eight saves in the loss.
Bridgewater is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Shenandoah for an ODAC matchup with the Hornets. Action is set for a 7 p.m. start.
