Oct 17, 2010
BOONE, N.C. - On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Virginia
Commonwealth University field hockey team rained on the Appalachian
State's Senior Day. Freshman Rachel Whitt
(Fredericksburg, Va.) scored the first of three first half
goals and VCU cruised to a 3-0 victory at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Rams have won five straight and 12 of 14 to improve to
12-4 on the year. The 12 victories are the program's most
since 1992 and are tied for the third most all-time. The
Rams' five-match win streak is its first since capturing six
straight during the 2004 season.
"This game was another one to find a way to win," VCU Head Coach Kelly McQuade said. "We generated a way to attack, even though we had to adapt to the surface. We had a lot of the momentum throughout the game and we kept up a high pace."
VCU jumped on the Mountaineers (5-8) early and often. The Rams, which outshot Appalachian State 12-3 in the first half, got on the board in the sixth minute when sophomore Kelsey Scherrer (Chesapeake, Va.) found Whitt for her third score of the year.
Scherrer added a goal of her own in the 19th minute when she dribbled passed three ASU defenders and fired a reverse side shot into the right back corner of the net. Scherrer, who has 12 goals this season, has scored in five straight matches.
"We put together two complete games back-to-back," commented McQuade. "I feel that the intensity and high level of pressure were our strengths of this game."
Senior Marle van Dessel (Oisterwijk, Netherlands) also scored for the Rams, her ninth of the season and 34th of her career, in the 15th minute.
VCU controlled the game from the outset and outshot Appalachian State 21-8 and owned an 11-4 advantage in penalty corners.
"It is important to come into CAA play on a high note," stated McQuade. "We need this extra bit of confidence that these two wins have created. The end of the season will be what makes or breaks us. The next three games will be very pivotal."
The Rams will travel to Norfolk, Va. to play Old Dominion on Friday, Oct. 22.
