BRIDGEWATER, Va.. -- The Bridgewater College field hockey team battled with the Mary Washington until the final whistle, but fell, 3-1, to the visiting Eagles at the Jopson Athletic Complex on Wednesday night.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Mary Washington 3, Bridgewater 1
Records: Bridgewater 1-1, Mary Washington 3-0

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The night started with a weather delay as storms approached the area minutes before the expected start time of the contest. The team's returned to the field nearly an hour after the 7 pm start and were underway minutes after 8 pm. As play began, Bridgewater got the first opportunity as the team got a penalty corner but could not capitalize on the attempt less than two minutes in. UMW got a shot off after a penalty corner as starting goalie Madalyn Miller made a save, but Mary Washington possessed the rebound and Grayson Scott found the back of the cage to make it 1-0 with 7:24 left to go. Right off the restart, Scott was able to beat the goalie again with an assist to Emma Bernard, who also assisted the first score, to double to lead to 2-0.
• The visitors held on to a 2-0 lead through half of the second quarter, but the Bridgewater offense took possession and took advantage of its first shot on goal as Rylie Flick scored her first collegiate goal to split the deficit to one goal with under four minutes to play in the opening half. Neither team was able to get another shot throughout the rest of the half as UMW held on to a 2-1 edge at the break.
• Following the 10-minute intermission, Mary Washington had another opportunity to extend its lead, but Ashley Nau, who came in to the cage after halftime, kicked aside a pair of shots just 20 seconds apart to preserve the score. Bridgewater was unable to get a shot on target in the quarter as the score remained 2-1 entering the final 15 minutes.
• The two sides played aggressively throughout the contest and the fourth quarter was no different. Flick recorded another shot on target, but it was kicked away and cleared by the defense on a potential game-tying shot with inside of four minutes to play in regulation. With possession going to the other side of the field, a shot from UMW was stopped by Meredyth Rankin recording a defensive save, but a penalty corner was called following the stop. The visitors were able to take advantage of the set play as Paige Stewart tipped in a ball played by Lauren Boucher to make it 3-1 with just 13 seconds left in the game. The scoreline held until the final whistle.

GAME STATS

• Flick recorded BC's only score and also added another shot to the lead the team.
• Ranking had one defensive save in the loss.
• Miller made one save in the first 30 minutes, while Nau came into the cage in relief and kicked aside three shots. On the other side of the field, Bailey McNabb stopped one of the two shots she faced.

UP NEXT
Bridgewater is right back at it on Saturday, Sept. 9, as it hosts Wooster at 1 pm in a Campus Safety Awareness game at the Jopson Athletic Complex. The Eagles are in the midst of a four-game homestand.