CONWAY, Ark. - The Rhodes College field hockey team clinched a share of the Southern Athletic Association Regular Season Championship, defeating the Hendrix Warriors on Monday evening by the score of 6-2.
With the win, Rhodes has now won seven straight games and is 10-1 on the season including a 4-0 record in conference play with just one more conference matchup left on the schedule.
The Lynx were dominant again, out shooting the Warriors 44-7 including a 23-5 advantage in shots on target. Rhodes also had 14 penalty corners on the afternoon to Hendrix's four.
The Lynx started fast, scoring in the first minute and a half as senior
Christina DiFelice got the Lynx on the board thanks to an assist by sophomore
Lizzie Wood.
However, the scrappy Warriors were not going to go down without a fight as they evened the score just six minutes later thanks to a goal from Mary Ingabire.
From there, Rhodes began to control possession and dominate the matchup in the Hendrix half of the field, looking to regain the lead. They would do just that midway through the first half as senior
Grace Whelan scored on an assist from sophomore
Jillian Christensen. Despite 23 shots in the half, Rhodes would only have the 2-1 lead going into the break.
In the second half, it took Rhodes seven minutes to make it a three goal lead as DiFelice scored both goals to earn a hat trick in the match and put Rhodes ahead with a commanding 4-1 lead.
Freshman
Melissa Paniz made it a 5-1 game 10 minutes later and the Lynx were in complete control of the match. Hendrix's Raychl Reger got a goal to made it 5-2, but freshman
Elly Brooks put the finishing touches on the match as the Lynx escaped Conway with a 6-2 win.
For DiFelice, it is her fourth career hat trick at Rhodes and her third coming against the Warriors. Whelan would finish with a goal and an assist while Paniz and Brooks each earned their first career goals in their young careers.
Rhodes got another terrific performance from senior
Erin Best on the defensive end while senior
Kennedy Brislin and freshman
Lydia Slyter were excellent in the midfield on the evening. Freshman
Nina Migneco got the start in goal and finished with three saves on the evening.
The Lynx are back in action at home this weekend as they will play a non-conference contest against Bridgewater on Friday afternoon. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM at Mason Field.
