App State field hockey traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia Wednesday and Thursday for the Mid-American Conference tournament. They won their first game against Ohio University before losing in the semifinals to the University of Massachusetts.
Opening the tournament as the No. 3 seed, the Mountaineers took the field against the No. 6 seed Bobcats in the quarterfinals.
The Black and Gold got on the board first with a goal in the final minute of the opening quarter, scored by sophomore midfielder Frederique Grimbergen.
App State added to its lead in the second quarter. Great ball movement from the Mountaineers led to an open net, and Grimbergen capitalized with her second goal of the game.
The Mountaineers played strong defensively through the first three quarters, allowing just 1 shot in the first 45 minutes, but the offense was halted in the third quarter: just 1 shot in the third compared to 8 shots in the first two quarters.
Junior defender Sophia Baxter tallied one more goal for the Mountaineers late in the fourth quarter, and Ohio got on the board in the final two minutes of play to end the game with a score of 3-1.
The following afternoon, App State took on the No. 2 seeded U Mass. The Minutewomen allowed the fewest goals in the regular season in the MAC, and exemplified this in the first quarter with a scoreless contest.
The game wouldn’t remain without a goal for long, as UMass scored the opener less than a minute into the second quarter. The 1-0 score remained until halftime.
Not long into the third quarter, UMass scored a second goal with a shot from just inside the shooting circle making it 2-0, and later in the quarter scored on a penalty stroke to extend the lead to 3-0.
App State found an immediate response to going down into the hole, with senior forward Kate Richardson scoring the first goal for the Black and Gold. However, after a potential second goal was overturned due to a dangerous pass, the Minutewomen scored another, bringing the score to 4-1.
The fourth quarter remained scoreless, and App State’s run in the MAC conference tournament was over.
After a remarkable season, including being ranked for the first time in program history, the Mountaineers now have to hope to see if their name will be called for the NCAA tournament. The selection show will take place Sunday at 10 p.m.
