Box Score LYNCHBURG, Va. – Junior Caroline Augsburger scored late in the 16th minute to put the Bridgewater Eagles field hockey team up 1-0 at the intermission, but Lynchburg tallied two goals in the first five minutes of the second half en route to a 3-1 victory over the Eagles on Wednesday evening at Shellenberger Field.
The loss for the Eagles marked the program's second straight defeat in the semifinal round of the conference tournament after last season's 2-1 overtime loss at Randolph-Macon.
Lynchburg went on the attack to open the game, rattling off four shots, but it was Bridgewater getting on the scoreboard first. At the 15:40 mark of the contest, Augsburger ripped a shot into the back of the net to put Bridgewater out in front of the five-time defending Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) champions.
Over the final 19-plus minutes of the first half, senior netminder Jessica Balsano turned away four Lynchburg scoring attempts as the Eagles stymied the Hornets over the opening 35 minutes and took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Out of the halftime break, the Hornets got on the board quickly to knot the contest up at a goal each. Just 66 seconds into the second half, Morgan Lammando found the back of the net to tie the score up at a 1-1 tally.
Following the Lynchburg goal, Balsano remained busy in the cage and turned away two Hornets scoring opportunities before Kelsey Link punched in a rebound off of a Melanie Tenney shot to put the Hornets out in front 2-1 at the 39:23 mark.
Bridgewater looked to answer later in the half with a trio of shots, but the Eagles couldn't find the back of the net, while Lynchburg added a late goal from the stick of Nicole Marburger as the Hornets advanced to the conference championship game with a 3-1 win over Bridgewater.
Augsburger and senior Colleen Dickson each registered three shots in the loss to lead the Bridgewater offense.
Balsano made nine saves to pick up the loss in her final appearance in the Crimson and Vegas Gold.
Lammando led the Lynchburg offense with a goal on six shots on the evening.
Jordan Seeley picked up the win between the pipes, turning away two Bridgewater shots along the way.
The Eagles wrap up the 2013 season with a 12-7 overall record. Bridgewater's 12 wins during the 2013 season marks the highest total for the program since the 1982 campaign.
