Alex Francis and her University of Western Women’s Field Hockey teammates traveled down to Ithaca, NY to kick-start their pre-season training camp, coming away with a 2-1 record.
After a long night of travelling to upstate New York, they began their tour by playing Elmira College. Western started out the game strong with good movement across the field, fluently integrating their six new players. Western ended the first half with goals by Sabrina Bradshaw and Lindsay Borrell, giving them a 2-1 lead.
The second quarter was one to forget for Western, as a couple of breakdowns in the back-end allowed Elmira to even up the score. Strong leadership from University of Birmingham transfer Tamara Evens allowed Western to regain the lead in the third.
It was Evens command of the the midfield, key saves from goaltenders Margaret Yu and Marielle Fernback, and the determination of the rest of the team that allowed the Western to pull through with a 5-2 win.
Western followed up their win with a contest against Wells College, with the 34-degree heat leading to a slow start for the purple and white. Sabrina Bradshaw broke through and scored two goals to set the pace for the remainder of the half, taking a one-goal lead over Wells.
Through the third and final quarter of the game, Wells College was able to pick up their intensity and even the score to 2-2. Western quickly responded to retake their lead as Nicole Willis scored the game-winning goal on cross from the top of the defensive circle on a short corner.
Western wrapped up their New York tour, taking on the NCAA Division I Cornell Big Red. Cornell played an aggressive offensive style, challenging the Stangs' defensive strategies, and taking a 6-0 win over Western.
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