Box Score LYNCHBURG, Va. – In a high-scoring affair at Lynchburg College, the Bridgewater Eagles field hockey team struck first but couldn't hold off an offensive surge from DePauw as they fell in the season opener by a 5-3 tally.
Bridgewater struck first after a scoreless first 20 minutes when Megan Gould took a Caroline Augsburger pass and beat the keeper to put the Eagles ahead by a 1-0 tally, which is where things would stay until after the intermission.
DePauw outshot Bridgewater in the opening stanza by a 12-to-6 margin, but junior goalkeeper Jessica Balsano stoned six DePauw scoring attempts to keep the Eagles ahead after 35 minutes.
Out of the intermission, DePauw struck first when Paige Henry put a shot past Balsano to tie the game at a goal each with just four minutes expired on the second-half clock.
The Tigers took the lead 48 seconds later when Bridgette Shamleffer stuck a shot past the keeper off of a pass from Maggie Campbell to hand DePauw a 2-1 advantage.
Freshman Taylor Prillaman got the Eagles back in the game when she netted an unassisted equalizer to tie the game back up, this time at two goals each at the 40:13 mark.
DePauw scored three unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead with under 15 minutes to play, but the Eagles wouldn't go away. Senior Joan Burleson took a Caroline Fletcher pass and beat the keeper to chip the Tigers' lead to two goals in the 59th minute, but it wasn't enough as the Eagles eventually fell by a 5-3 tally.
On the offensive end, DePauw owned a 27-to-9 shot advantage, while the Eagles owned a slim 7-to-6 advantage in corners.
Augsburger, Burleson and Prillaman each paced the Bridgewater attack with two shots each.
DePauw was paced offensively by seven-shot outings from Margaret Ellis and Paige Henry.
Balsano stopped 11 shots in the loss, while DePauw's Maggie Steele recorded three saves to earn the win.
Bridgewater is back in action on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. when it does battle with Mary Washington.
