CHESTER, Pa. - The Albright field hockey team (9-9, 4-4 MAC Commonwealth) took down the number four seed Widener Pride (10-8, 5-3 MAC Commonwealth) as the fifth seed in the opening round of the MAC Commonwealth field hockey playoffs 1-0. Laurel Gingrich's game winning goal came with under seven minutes to play, sending the Lions to the semifinals.
The Albright victory marks the first time in school history the Lions have won a playoff game since at least 1975. Tonight's game marked the school's first playoff appearance since 2017.
Overall this season, Albright has won their last five games dating back to the regular season.
Albright and Widener played in a fantastic game to begin the 2022 MAC Commonwealth playoffs. The visiting Lions were relentless in their offensive pursuit applying constant pressure on the Widener defense. Albright fired 11 total shots and drew 12 penalty corners in the game.
The contest picked up in the second period when Albright and Widener combined to take 11 total shots. The Lions picked up half their total penalty corners in the second period drawing six of them. Although there were a flurry of opportunities, neither team could find the back of the net keeping the game scoreless at halftime.
Veronica Heckman made four saves in the second quarter proving to be her busiest quarter between the pipes. Heckman was brilliant for Albright in goal, keeping the game tied at the break. Heckman finished with five saves in the shutout performance.
After a slow third period the Lions would once again find their rhythm in the fourth quarter.
The Albright offense picked up again, firing four shots and tallying four corners in the frame. The offense gave you the sense that they were going to find the game-winning goal.
With just under seven minutes to play Gingrich scored the biggest goal of her Albright field hockey career. The junior collected the ball from Chelsea Johnson who assisted on the play depositing the ball into the back of the net giving Albright the victory.
Olivia Lorah produced six shots total, good for a game high. Of the six shots two of them forced the Widener keeper to make a save. In addition to Johnson's assist, the forward tallied three total shots and two of which were on goal.
In her first season in charge, Coach Wiese has led the Lions to their first playoff win since at least 1975. Coach Wiese has her team playing their best field hockey at just the right time and had this to say about tonight's performance.
"Tonight was such an awesome team win and it was incredible to see the massive improvement of this team from the last time we played Widener. We controlled most of the game but couldn't find the back of the cage. I'm really proud of this team for finding a way to score and not allowing this game to go to overtime. It was an awesome win and I couldn't be more proud of how far we have come!"
UP NEXT:
After tonight's win the Lions will now advance to the MAC Commonwealth semifinals. Semifinal matchup number one will feature Albright on the road against Messiah on Wednesday, November 2. The semifinal is scheduled for 7 p.m. start.
