Bulldogs Give #9 Lebanon Valley Major Scare in 1-0 Loss

Freshman Victoria DelToro was outstanding in goal on Thursday, making eight saves.

BOX SCORE

Center Valley, PA (September 17, 2009) – The DeSales University field hockey team nearly shocked the Division III field hockey world on Thursday afternoon giving 9^th ranked Lebanon Valley College all they could handle, especially on the defensive end, falling 1-0 in a non-conference game at Fasching Fields.

LVC entered the game ranked 9^th in the country and with a 3-1 record. The Flying Dutchmen had beaten the Bulldogs 8-0 last season and DSU was without two of its regular starters for the game, but none of that mattered as DeSales very nearly pulled off the biggest upset in school history.

DeSales only had one scoring chance but it could not have gotten any better as the Bulldogs (1-5 overall) were awarded a stroke early in the first half. Sophomore Carla Nunez (Bushkill, PA/East Stroudsburg North) took the stroke but her shot was saved, keeping the game scoreless.

The game remained scoreless into halftime as LVC out-shot DSU, 6-1 in the opening half. Lebanon Valley turned up the offensive intensity in the second half but early on the Bulldog defense and freshman Victoria DelToro (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) refused to let the Flying Dutchmen on the scoreboard.

LVC ended up out-shooting DSU, 18-1, in the game and 12-0 in the second half but it wasn't until the 62:16 mark of the second half when Rachel Pantalone scored off an assist from Shelly Lobach and you could hear a collective sigh of relief from the Lebanon Valley sideline.

The Bulldogs certainly proved to themselves that they can compete with anyone in the country in the loss and will look to this game as a confidence booster for the rest of the season which continues on Saturday afternoon when they host Widener University in a non-conference game beginning at 1:00 pm.

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