GRANVILLE, Ohio (Sept. 18) –
Lila Smith recorded her first collegiate hat trick to guide the Denison University field hockey team to a 6-0 victory over the visiting College of Wooster in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play Wednesday evening at Deeds Field – Piper Stadium.
Smith opened the scoring with an unassisted score midway through the first quarter.
Emma Gebhart, the team's leading scorer, tacked on a goal late in the first quarter to stretch the lead to 2-0 after 15 minutes of play.
Reilly Desmond got into the scoring act in the second quarter. Desmond was able to get a deflection in front of the cage past the Wooster goalkeeper.
Tabitha Chandler was credited with an assist after the initial hit front out top. The Big Red carried a 3-0 lead into halftime.
Denison was able to score twice in the third quarter to further extend their lead. Smith was able to corral a pass from
Rachel Gilio and find the left corner of the cage to make it 4-0 just 2:15 into the third. Gebhart was able to collect a rebound and score just five minutes later to stretch the advantage to 5-0. Gebhart has now scored in four-straight games overall.
Smith capped her hat trick performance with a goal in the latter stages of the fourth quarter. Her third goal of the day came with just three-plus minutes left in the match.
Denison held sizable advantages in shots (33-2), shots on goal (22-2) and penalty corners (18-0) in the victory. The Big Red defense was rarely tested as they notched their first shutout of the season.
Gebhart tallied a game-high 13 shots. Senior goalie
Athena Joannou earned the victory. She combined with first-year goalie
Lizzie Karnofel to record the shutout. Karnofel played the final 30 minutes and made two saves.
Up Next: Denison will host Transylvania on Saturday, Sept. 21. The NCAC match between the Big Red and Pioneers is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start. In conjunction with Saturday's game, Denison will celebrate 50 years of field hockey with festivities throughout the day.
