Harrisonburg, Va. -- Saturday saw an interesting field hockey matchup between a pair of teams who had never played against one another playing on the field of a school that neither program had played at before either. Despite the unfamiliar surroundings, Kenyon College looked right at home on the campus of Eastern Mennonite University as the Owls orchestrated a 4-2 win over the Meredith College Avenging Angels.

The victory, Kenyon's second straight, boosted the Owls record to 4-1 this season, while Meredith fell to 1-3. Obviously, the Owls also now hold a 1-0 edge in the all-time series between the teams after claiming a win in the first-ever meeting.

Kenyon's Grace Lane, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), was a driving force for the Owls offense. The senior started the day's scoring with a goal in the fifth minute, putting Kenyon on the board first after Casey Master intercepted an attempted clearance and drove the ball in toward Kiersten Hoffmann before Lane landed the ball in the back of the net.

The goal was one of two on the day for Lane, her first multi-goal game this season. The forward also added an assist in the contest, finishing the day with a game-high five points while also leading all players with a whopping 11 shots and eight shots on goal. Lane's offensive pressure helped the Owls outshoot the Avenging Angels 32-8 and post a 23-5 edge in shots on goal.

Despite the statistical advantages, Meredith managed to tie the game with a first-quarter equalizer a few minutes after Kenyon took the lead. However, Master scored off of Lane's assist before the end of the opening period, igniting a 3-0 Owls run.

Maren Lawrence laced one of her season-high six shots on goal in the 26th minute, putting the Owls up 3-1. Then, a few minutes later, Lane's second score pushed Kenyon's advantage to three less than a minute before the halftime break. Raigan Hutter dished out assists on each of those second-quarter scores, the first two-helper game of the senior's career.

Meredith had its most aggressive offensive quarter coming out of halftime, posting five shots while managing just one in each of the other three frames. One of the Avenging Angels attempts snuck through, giving Meredith's Maya Kirstein a second goal and cutting Kenyon's lead to 4-2.

The Owls maintained their offensive pressure and posted a 15-6 advantage in shots in the second half, but Meredith's Shae-Lynn Henderson kept Kenyon from adding on and finished with 19 saves. Fortunately, the Owls held down their defensive end as well, and Megan Lydon and the Kenyon defense kept the score from getting any closer to preserve the 4-2 victory.

Following the non-conference clash, Kenyon has a stretch of five straight NCAC contests on deck. The Owls will be at home in Gambier for the first four of those league matchups, starting with a matchup against Oberlin College at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 18, at The Field at Benson Bowl.