Lexington, Ky.- The Transylvania field hockey team opened up a memorable Sunday afternoon conference opener with a 4-0 defeat to the Rhodes College Lynx on Sunday afternoon at Pat Deacon Stadium.
On a day when the Pioneers paid tribute to an icon and namesake of their home venue, Pat Deacon, who was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, Transylvania went out and played inspired field hockey against Rhodes, but were unable to keep pace with the Lynx, who held an 11 to 10 field advantage for the duration of the afternoon.
Past members of the field hockey team and Transylvania athletic alumni who played for Deacon in a multitude of sports gathered on the field during pregame warmups to greet via livestream and send Coach Deacon positive messages in her latest challenge, setting the stage for an afternoon of Coach Deacon's signature sport.
The loss drops the Pioneers to 0-8 on the year and 0-1 in SAA play while the win moves the Lynx up to 4-3 on the year and 1-0 in SAA conference play.
The shorthanded Pioneers showed their toughness as they faced a tough test in the Lynx. Rhodes opened the scoring early in the 8th minute of the first period and controlled the attacking half. Pioneer goalkeeper Libby Bringard remained strong the rest of the half by collecting five saves and allowing no further goals in the first two periods to keep the score at 1-0 going into the second half.
The Lynx opened the second half with two early goals in the 3rd and 10th minute of the third period to extend the lead. Rhodes scored its final goal in the 11th minute of the third period and secured the 4-0 result. Bringard earned four more saves in the second half to bring her total to nine on the day.
The Pioneers will travel to Springfield, Ohio to take on the Wittenberg University Tigers on Wednesday, September 29th. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM at Edwards-Maurer Field.
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