Staten Island, NY – The Wagner field hockey team dropped its season opener, 4-1, to the University of Albany on Friday afternoon.
Senior
Julia Cruces Pastorino scored the Green & White's lone goal while
Daisy Ruhle stopped 13 shots, including six in the
fourth quarter.
Liselotte Koop picked up her second assist of the season, giving her one each of the Seahawks' first two goals of the season. Cruces Pastorino led the team in shots for the second straight contest with two; senior Augustina Deharbe also tallied two shots.
Wagner claimed an early lead when Cruces Pastorino fired a shot past Albany goalkeeper Lara Behn 12:58 into the contest. Crucial saves by
Daisy Ruhle and key defensive plays from
Liselotte Koop and
Joy Muller held off the Great Danes in the early going.
Albany drew even on a goal from freshman Alison Smisdom midway through the second quarter. The first half concluded level at 1-1, Albany out-shot the Seahawks 7-5, while the Seahawks held a 4-3 edge in corners. Ruhle finished the first half with five saves, while Behn had two.
The two clubs played to a stalemate in the 3
rd quarter as Albany out-shot Wagner 3-1. Albany tallied three
fourth quarter goals to separate themselves from the Green & White as Smisdom tallied two, including a penalty stroke; she finished with three goals on the afternoon. Lara Mortz tallied the other goal for the Great Danes, Mortz also compiled two assists.
The loss drops Wagner to 0-2 on the 2021 season. They return to action on Sept. 10 as they travel to Ithaca, NY to take on Cornell at 4:00 P.M.
