READING, Pa. – The Bryn Mawr field hockey team took to the road earlier Sunday afternoon looking to keep their undefeated start to the season going. The Owls faced off against Alvernia in what turned out to be a hard-fought contest by both sides, but it was Bryn Mawr who came away victorious thanks to a third-quarter goal by Novy Goetgeluk. The Owls outshot the Wolves 20-12 in the back-and-forth affair, and senior goalkeeper Maggie Titus made six important saves to clinch Bryn Mawr's second shutout of the season.

Bryn Mawr was on the front foot early as they earned a penalty corner just six minutes into the contest but were unable to register a shot on that opportunity. Alvernia stormed back the other way with an offensive flurry of their own, forcing Titus into two quick saves a minute later to keep the game tied. The Owls slowly started to exert their will over the rest of the period. Bryn Mawr wrapped up the first frame with three more penalty corners and a pair of shots by Hazel Miller, all in the final minute of the first half. None of those chances found the back of the cage, however, and that kept the game tied 0-0 headed into the second quarter.

Alvernia responded with two more shots of their own to start off the second quarter, but Titus again stood strong when called upon. Bryn Mawr had their best chances of the frame during a run of possession in the middle of the quarter. The Owls earned four penalty corners over a five-minute stretch midway through the second period, leading to five shots for the Owls. Natasha Ring saw her opportunity go wide, but then Charlotte Hauptman and Novy Goetgeluk each had shots saved by Alvernia's goalkeeper. Sarah Chapman also let loose a shot of her own that was eventually saved by the Wolves' netminder, and that wrapped up the best of the scoring opportunities in the second quarter for the Owls.

Bryn Mawr continued to exert more and more pressure on Alvernia throughout the third quarter, and that finally paid off as the Owls broke through the Alvernia defense with four minutes to play in the third period. Playing down a player due to a green card, the Owls played patient defense and absorbed a probing attack from the Wolves. Some sharp defending by the Owls helped them break out of their own end and slowly work possession down the field. After some battling in the final third, Holly Evans ended up with possession along the right sideline. She made a great pass down the line to find Novy Goetgeluk in the corner. The sophomore collected and sprinted along the endline, turning her defender and taking the ball in towards the front of the cage. Goetgeluk tried to find a centering pass, but a Wolves back got a stick in front and the ball bounced right back to Goetgeluk. Now with possession directly in front of the cage, the Owls sophomore faced the oncoming Alvernia goalkeeper. The two players swatted at the ball several times, Goetgeluk with her stick and the Wolves netminder with her pads. Finally Goetgeluk had to spin and recollect with her back to the cage. The sophomore sent a deft backhand attempt, getting the ball past the Wolves goalkeeper and into the back of the cage to finally give Bryn Mawr the 1-0 lead.

Alvernia tried their hardest to battle back in the fourth and final period. The Wolves sent a flurry of attacks towards the Bryn Mawr cage in the opening minutes of the quarter in search of an equalizer. Titus made two more key stops in the opening two minutes of play, and then the Bryn Mawr defense forced four more shots away from the cage. Ultimately, that would prove to be the last good opportunity for the hosts, as Bryn Mawr salted away the rest of the game with strong possession and defense in the midfield.

With the win, the Owls move to 2-0 on the young season. They will be right back on the road this week for their next contest, as Bryn Mawr will travel to Lebanon Valley for a Wednesday night showdown with the Dutchmen. It will be just the second contest in program history between the two teams, as the Owls took a dominant 3-0 win over LVC last year.