Miami Tops Davidson 4-1
Monday’s Scoreboard
Miami 4, Davidson 1
Courtesy of Miami Sports Information
Miami 4, Davidson 1
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University field hockey team beat Davidson 4-1 to finish their 2017 road schedule. The RedHawks improve to 7-7 on the season and the Wildcats fall to 0-14.
"We knew this would be a tough game," said head coach Inako Puzo. "Davidson's hockey is not well reflected in their record. They play hard and force you to be relentless for the entire game. This was the message from the beginning. We had to stay disciplined and relentless. I'm happy with the character we showed tonight and with the lessons we take from the weekend. It is important for the team to get used to back-to-back games. If you want to win the MAC Tournament you have to win two games in 24 hours. We will keep working to put ourselves in that situation and if things work our way we have to be ready to play for the championship."
Miami led the game in both shots 18-6 and penalty corners 11-2.
Avery Sturm got the RedHawks on the board first with her first goal of the season. The goal came off a penalty corner chance with an assist from Leonor Berlie with less than a minute to play in the first half.
The score remained 1-0 for much of the second half. In the 58th minute of play, Hannah Fisher scored her fifth goal of the season to tie the game. Fisher scored from the top of the arc off a penalty corner feed. Courtney Byler and Anna Brewer picked up assists.
Just three minutes later, Paula Portugal netted her 10th of the season, putting the ball in the top right on a penalty corner feed from Estel Roig, giving the RedHawks a 2-1 lead.
In the 66th minute of play, Portugal scored her second of the night and 11th of the season, putting Miami up 3-1. Portugal backhanded the ball into the net on a cross pass from Berlie.
With less than two minutes to play, Avery Sturm sealed a RedHawks’ victory with her second goal of the night. Sturm scored to the far post with an assist by Henni Otten.
Maddie Passarella recorded one save, earning her fourth shutout of the season. Portugal led both teams with seven shots.
"We knew this was going to be a difficult game, playing Davidson at home," said senior back Makenna Colby. "They are a tough team that does not give up and were going to throw everything at us. We had to be relentless and outwork and outplay them if we wanted to be successful on the scoreboard. We took a while to get in sync but when we did were able to connect and find the boards. Great job to Avery tonight to do whatever it took at both ends of the field to push us over the edge."
Miami returns home for a pair of games next weekend. The RedHawks host MAC-opponent Central Michigan on Friday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. and No. 4 Virginia on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m.
