(Posted September 17, 2009)

YORK, Pa. -- A pair of goals in the early minutes of the second half turned a slim Juniata College lead into an insurmountable one as the Eagles breezed past York College of Pennsylvania, 4-1, in field hockey action Thursday in York, Pa.

After battling through much of the first half without scoring, Juniata finally solved York goalie Claire Rekitzke with just 3:10 remaining in the frame. Kara Buda (Franklin, N.J./Wallkill Valley) finally put a shot past Rekitzke, with an assist coming from Jill McNeish (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area).

The Eagles quickly added to that lead at the start of the second period.

A quick flurry of shots right in front of the York goal created an opening for Shauna Deschenes (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita), who corralled a loose rebound and poked the ball past Rekitzke to make the score 2-0 with 33:01 showing on the clock.

Just under two minutes later, Paula Price (Camp Hill, Pa./East Pennsboro) extended the lead to 3-0 with a straight-on shot that beat the Spartan goalie between the pads.

Caroline Phillips (Wilmington, Del./Concord) buried a loose rebound off an earlier shot by Kim Amrod (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) to score her first collegiate goal, stretching the Juniata lead to 4-0 with 24:58 remaining in the contest.

Juniata's bid for the shutout was spoiled with just under eight minutes remaining in the game, when the Spartans' Heather Re beat Juniata goalie Denalyn Spratt (Haddon Heights, N.J./Haddon Heights). York's Casey Lawrence controlled a loose ball inside the scoring circle, and passed to Re who finished for the Spartans.

Juniata (4-2) outshot York 16-10, with an 11-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Spartans had the upper hand in penalty corners, 12-10. Spratt finished the game with three saves in the Juniata cage, while Rekitzke tallied six stops for York College (2-4, 1-1 Capital).

The Eagles play the second in a stretch of back-to-back road games on Saturday, Sept. 19, when they travel to Doylestown, Pa., to face Delaware Valley College.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.