Gophers Celebrate Seniors Before Game Against Blue Jays

BALTIMORE, MD - The Goucher College Gopher (6-10 overall, 2-6 conference) hosted the Blue Jays of Elizabethtown College (9-6 overall, 4-4 conference) on Saturday afternoon. Despite a fourth-quarter comeback, the Gophers fell to the Blue Jays 14-12.

The Gophers opened the contest after Dakai Handy won the opening draw control. After almost five minutes of neutral play, the Blue Jays go on the board first with a man-down goal at the 10:11 mark. The Gophers quickly responded after winning the following draw, with a score from Tatiana Emeruwa off a pass from Camden West (9:40). Goalie Kennedy Harper saw her first save before Elizabethtown scored a goal instantly (7:37). After the Blue Jays won the draw, they stormed down the field and scored 11 seconds later. Harper added another save, putting the momentum in favor of the Gophers, who found their second goal of the game coming from Emeruwa (5:32). Harper added another save off of an Elizabethtown free position attempt, but a Gophers turnover led to a Blue Jays goal. Elizabethtown closed the quarter scoring at the 1:40 mark to give them a 5-2 lead.

Elizabethtown continued its offensive momentum in the second quarter, scoring back-to-back goals within the first minute. Less than a minute later, Emeruwa finished the hat trick early in the game off a pass from West following a won draw control from Handy. The Blue Jays won the draw, but Angelena Holmes caused a turnover, giving the Gophers the ball. The play turned neutral with both teams recording shots before Wrenn Harney converted the free position attempt for the Gophers fourth goal of the game (9:35). Elizabethtown won the draw and scored quickly to give them the 8-4 lead (8:49). A minute and a half later, they added another. Haper added another free position attempt save at the 3:24 mark. Katie Bloom scored in the last ten seconds off a pass from Emma Nelson to bring the Gophers within four goals heading into half.

The second half opened with back-to-back goals for the Blue Jays, giving them an 11-5 lead. Four minutes of play, which only saw two shots passed, when Amaya Locke scored her first goal of the game (9:14). Elizabethtown won the draw and quickly converted a man-up goal. After seven minutes of gameplay, Holmes caused a later turnover to give the Gophers the ball heading into the fourth quarter.

Within the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, Locke scored a man-up goal for the Gophers, assisted by K. Bloom. With 37 seconds, Imani Ward scored back-to-back free position goals to bring the Gophers within three (10:57). The Blue Jays caused a turnover and stormed down the field to find the back of the net at the 7:38 mark. After Elizabethtown won the draw, Holmes added another caused turnover, which allowed the Gophers to fly down the field for another offensive pressure. With 6:21 on the clock, Nelson scored, assisted by Harney. Three minutes later, the Blue Jays scored to regain their four-goal lead. The Gophers came back with West scoring two man-up free position goals to bring them within two. Despite a late offensive push from Goucher, the Blue Jays won 14-12.

West led the team with four points, scoring two goals and two assists. On the defensive end, Holmes had three caused turnovers and six ground balls. Harper added 60 minutes in goal with 13 saves on 27 shots faced.

The Blue Jays led the Gophers in draw controls, 19-8. Elizabethtown took 34 shots compared to Goucher's 23. The Blue Jays went 12-12 on clears, while the Gophers went 19-22. Goucher capitalized on free position attempts, going 5-7, whereas the Blue Jays went 0-6.

The Gophers return to action for their final home game of the regular season on Wednesday, April 22^nd when they face Susquehanna for a 7pm match-up.