Cardinals record sixth shutout with 2-0 win over Eagles

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The CUA field hockey team ran its record to 7-0 on Wednesday as the Cardinals downed Mary Washington 2-0 on the road.  The No. 17 Cardinals scored one goal in each half as they recorded their sixth shutout of the season.

CUA was credited with six shots on the afternoon, while the Eagles totaled ten.  Mary Washington was awarded 11 penalty corners and CUA had two.  In goal for the Cardinals, Krystyanna Ramsdell had nine saves, while Mary Washington goalkeeper Chrissy Bowdren stopped four shots.

“Kris (Ramsdell) was awesome today,” head coach Gia Cillizza explained after the game.  “Liz Grumbein and Catherine Mirsky also had strong games for us on defense.”

She continued, “I thought Mary Washington played well in the second half.  This wasn’t our best effort, but again we found a way to get the win.  For them (Mary Washington) to have 11 corners and us to hold them scoreless is pretty significant.”

CUA once again struck early as Emma Dixon took a feed from Mary Swarthout 7:10 into the contest and scored for a 1-0 CUA lead.

Mary Washington took the game’s next three shots, but Ramsdell stopped two and the other was high.   

Later in the half, Dixon and Tracey Scanlon fired shots in a span of six seconds but Bowdren stopped both.  Those were the final shots of the first 35 minutes as CUA took its 1-0 lead into halftime.

Less than three minutes into the second half, the Cardinals struck again, this time by Tory Gagliardi off a feed from Scanlon on a penalty corner.  “That was a really well-executed goal,” Cillizza said.

Even with CUA leading 2-0, Mary Washington kept the pressure on the Cardinals, as the Eagles were awarded four penalty corners in the game’s next eight minutes.  Mary Washington also took three shots in that time, but Ramsdell sent back all three.

A shot by the Eagles’ Fiona Curtis at the 46:23 mark was also stopped by Ramsdell as was Morgan Jones’ attempt with six minutes to play.  CUA’s defense, led by Ramsdell, stood up to every Mary Washington charge, and the Cardinals shut out their sixth opponent of the season.  

The Cardinals will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to take on Susquehanna in the 2010 Landmark Conference opener.  Game time is slated for 1:00 from Pennsylvania. 

“I feel good heading into conference play,” Cillizza said.  “Three games this week is definitely going to be tough on the girls, so they have to be smart about getting enough rest and hydration and we as coaches have to be smart about the way we practice.”