PHILADELPHIA – The Lock Haven University field hockey team (1-0, 1-0 A10) opened the 2020-21 season this afternoon with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at La Salle University (0-4, 0-2 A10) in Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) action.
 
Jazmin Palma (Entre Rios Province, Argentina/Colegio Sagrado Corazon de Jesus) and Allison Horton (Easton, Pa./Wilson) scored for Lock Haven to cap a wild offensive surge in the opening quarter of play.
 
All three of the game's goals were scored in the first eight minutes of action.
 
Host La Salle made it 1-0 just 1:30 into the contest, but Palma tied the match at 1-1 just over a minute later.
 
In the eighth minute of play, Horton scored to make it 2-1. The goal held and proved to be the eventual game-winner. Anna May Barbusca (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) was credited with the assist on Horton's game-winning tally.
 
Behind solid goaltending, the Bald Eagle defense held strong in the second half on the road. Goalkeeper Joaquina Orlandini (Concordia, Argentina/San Antonio School) made two saves for Lock Haven.
 
Today's contest marked the first for LHU since the Bald Eagles made in appearance in the Atlantic 10 Conference semifinals on November 11, 2019.
 
The 2021 Spring Schedule:
Today's game marked the first of six games scheduled this spring for the LHU field hockey team. To date, five of the six contests are scheduled vs. Atlantic 10 opponents and three of the six are scheduled to be played at home on Charlotte Smith Field.
 
Back in July (2020), the Atlantic 10 Conference announced the postponement of all scheduled fall contests in conference-sponsored sports and A-10 championships due to the continuing COVID-19 global pandemic. That announcement included field hockey, but part of the announcement also included the league's intentions to conduct a competitive schedule for fall sports during the 2021 spring semester.
 
Up next:
The Bald Eagles will return to action on Sunday, March 28 when they host perennial A-10 power Saint Joseph's. The game is scheduled or a 12 p.m. start.
 
Celebrating a 75^th anniversary:
During this special 2021 spring season, the LHU field hockey program is celebrating a milestone anniversary. The 2020-21 season marks the 75^th anniversary of the first field hockey season back in 1945-46. The Bald Eagles first official varsity season came during the fall of 1945. The first varsity contest in program history came on October 20, 1945 and resulted in a victory. Since that first win, many more have followed, to go along with a number of other prestigious honors, including 69 winning seasons, 15 conference championships and seven national titles.