Stow Fights Hard but Loses 2 at Tournament

Although the Bullodgs showed improved play, they were unable to post a win in two games against Columbus-area schools Saturday.

Both games were played in blustery conditions on muddy fields, limiting the offense on both sides.

Hilliard Edges Stow in First

In the first game, against Hilliard Davidson, the Bulldogs fell by a score of 8-6. Stow got off to a good start as Jessie Swanger drilled home a shot early in the contest, but Hilliard surged ahead with three straight scores. Stow fought back to tie the game as Swanger set up Megan Garrison on a scoring play, then Swanger followed by scoring off a free position shot to tie the game at 3. Hilliard pulled ahead once more with three consecutive goals before halftime, the last one hitting the net with only 4 seconds remaining.

The Bulldogs started the second half with new energy. Kelly Vitt scored early in the period and Garrison scored her second minutes later to put Stow back within one. Hilliard answered with a contested goal after a Hilliard player appeared to step out of bounds before the scoring play, but the Bulldogs founght back once more as Swanger completed the hat trick. Hilliard drained the clock, forcing the Stow defense to take chances, and the Hilliard attack took advantage to score a final goal and place the game out of reach. Erin Wright took the loss in goal recording 5 saves.

Pickerington Nips Stow in Second Game

In the second game of the day, Stow faced off against Pickerington North and played one of their best defensive games of the season, and controlled most of the game until Pickerington edged ahead in the final minutes to win by a score of 5-4.

Pickerington took possession of the initial draw and immediately ran down field to score. But the defense, Katie Hill, Kendall Lang, Ashley Austin, Charlie Baliman and Shannon Perko played tough in spite of some confusing penalties.

Gina Bonfiglio and Kelsie Henglehelped transition to the midfield. Kelly Vitt and Jessie Swanger dropped down to aid the defensive effort.

Senior goalkeeper Erin Wright put on a clinic in the first half. She had an astounding 10 saves in the first half and thoroughly frustrated the Pickerington team. She also aided her cause with several leaping interceptions of Pickerington passes from behind the goal.

The Bulldogs generated several effective passing combinations to move the ball down field, as Katie Bellian, Jessie O’Day, Shannon Perko and Sam Banks played solid minutes. Alexa McCauley and Amanda Cooper made several nice grabs of long passes as they transitioned the ball to the offensive end.

Following a down field rush, Swanger earned a free position shot, which she converted to tie the score. Then, McCauley executed a curl from behind the next to score, placing the Bulldogs in the lead. Pickerington knotted the score at 2 late in the half, but Vitt converted on a free position shot to send the Bulldogs to intermission with a 3-2 advantage.

In the second half, Stow extended their lead as Megan Garrison drilled a free position shot to the upper right corner of the net. But Pickerington, aided by several disputed penalty calls, was able to score the next three goals, the final two off penalty shots — preventing the Bulldogs from earning the victory.

Wright took the loss in goal despite recording a total of 13 blocks for the game.

Editor's note: Mark Bonfiglio contributed information for this story.