Senior Morgan Jones (Williamsburg, Va., Walsingham Academy) scored three goals and sophomore Caitlin Baker (Falls Church, Va., McLean) added two goals and two assists to lead the 19th ranked University of Mary Washington field hockey team to a 6-0 victory over Stevenson University in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday in Fredericksburg. With the win, the Eagles move to 15-4 on the year and advance to the CAC Semifinals at Wesley College on Wednesday.
The Mustangs gave a solid defensive effort in the first half, holding the high-powered Eagles off the scoreboard until there were just 22.2 seconds remaining, as Jones scored on a Baker assist. Baker crossed the ball from the right endline to Jones, whose one-timer redirected the pass into the cage, giving UMW a 1-0 halftime lead.
In the second, Jones opened the scoring on a nearly identical goal to the first at 41:18, and then Baker added another on a high shot 5:30 later to up the lead to 3-0. Jones scored on a Mallory Peebles (Yorktown, Va., Tabb) assist at 53:05, and Lisa Charney (Fairfax, Va., Fairfax) added a goal at 59:20. Baker capped the scoring at 68:58 unassisted.
Jones continued her journey up the UMW record books, breaking the school single season rrecord for goals, as her third score of the day was her 24th, breaking the mark of 23 formerly held by All-American Jessica Morris in 2001. She now has 49 career goals (2nd all-time at UMW), 24 assists (T-4th), and 122 points (2nd).
The Eagles led in shots, 26-8, and in penalty corners, 13-5. Emily Badis (Kennett Square, Pa., Kennett) had no saves in the opening 35 minutes and Claire Gianelle (Salisbury, Md., Parkside) added four stops in the second half for the Eagles. Stevenson goalie Kelsi Zimmerman had 14 saves and Ariella Hopp had two defensive saves and Alyssa Russell one for the Mustangs.
Mary Washington will visit Wesley on Wednesday in the CAC semifinal. The Eagles dropped a 4-3 decision in penalty strokes at Wesley during the regular season. Game time is tenatively scheduled for 6:00 p.m.