Rowan field hockey couldn’t complete a comeback on Wednesday, Oct. 2, falling to No. 23 Messiah by a final score of 2-1 at Coach Richard Wackar Stadium. The loss extended Rowan’s losing streak to a season-high three games and dropped their record to 4-6 on the season.

In a game where Rowan outshot (12-9) and had more corners (9-4) than Messiah, the Profs were unable to capitalize and put the ball in the back of the cage for most of the contest. After a scoreless first quarter, Messiah took the lead when a loose ball in the circle found the stick of midfielder Leah Bryner, who was able to redirect the ball into the cage. The third quarter was scoreless before Messiah scored again in the fourth when forward Aubrey Clark was able to fish the ball out of a scrum in front of the cage and knock it home. Rowan responded just two minutes later however, when forward Lily Bataloni converted on a diving shot to score her third goal of the season and cut Rowan’s deficit to one. That was as close as Rowan would get, as a couple more corner attempts did not result in a game-tying goal and left the final score at 2-1.

Losing three games in a row never sits well with a team. What compounds the frustration is that the stat sheet and eye test confirm that Rowan could have won all three games. Nonetheless, head coach Michelle Andre is not getting discouraged with her team’s recent losses.

“You could have all those corners and still lose 2-1, that’s part of this game,” Andre said. “What I did see is that this team had a lot of life. That game had a playoff atmosphere and we played with a lot of intensity. Now it’s all about tying it all together and moving forward.”

Defender and team captain Tess Herman echoed Andre’s statement.

“I feel like we fought until the last minute,” Herman said. “There have been a few moments throughout the season where we fell back after we got scored on, but tonight we kept giving 100% even after we went down.”

Herman and Andre’s words back up what the team showed tonight. Being down two goals with just under ten minutes to go against a ranked team, Rowan could have easily packed it in mentally. Instead, the players remained locked in, quickly answering with their own goal and constantly communicating and encouraging each other right up until the final whistle.

One-third of their total shots and corners came after going down 2-0, highlighting the Profs’ resilience and unwillingness to give in. The effort gives Andre confidence her team will find themselves in the win column soon enough.

“You can build on that effort. You can win a conference with that,” Andre said.

“We still look like a team,” Herman said. “We played great tonight and losing is not going to stop us from playing our hearts out the next few weeks. All that matters is that type of play.”

Rowan’s next chance to end their losing streak will come on Saturday at noon, as the Profs travel to Virginia to face No. 14 Lynchburg. The game marks the final time Rowan will travel to face an out-of-conference opponent.

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