Nansemond River does not have to face Kecoughtan in any other sport for the rest of the fall, and for now that’s good news. The male Warriors missed out on their shot on the gridiron last Friday night and the Lady Warriors did not fare much better in field hockey Thursday.

In the opening game of the Suffolk Varsity Invitational, a last minute comeback fell a goal short as River fell 3-2.

The first strike of the match went to Kecoughtan as they had already outshot River 7-2 within the opening ten minutes.

Ashley Aston scored a tying goal about four minutes later off a corner taken by Tina Valdivieso. Aston took the pass from Valdivieso, lifted the ball over the stick of an oncoming defender, settled the ball and shot hard. The ball deflected high, lobbing down over the keeper into the top right corner of the cage.

Kecoughtan retook their lead with another goal a few minutes before halftime. The visitors’ speed and ball control kept River pinned in defensively for long stretches of the first half as Kecoughtan outshot River 19-3.

The visiting Lady Warriors went ahead 3-1 on a corner about 10 minutes from the end, but River did not fold, actually playing better.

Playing more in the Kecoughtan half, the work paid off with Aston scoring her second goal of the day, this time off an assist from Heather Proffit. But it was too late, as the final whistle sounded less than 30 seconds later.

Amber Shaffer’s 15 saves in goal kept River in the game despite Kecoughtan getting most of the scoring chances. Lakeland’s tournament game with Great Bridge (whom they defeated 1-0 Wednesday) was not finished at press time.

The tournament continues today at River with King’s Fork battling Kecoughtan at 3:30 p.m., the same time Lakeland plays Poquoson. River will battle Bayside at 4:45 p.m.

Also Wednesday, the Lady Warriors beat King’s Fork 2-1. Katelyn Yandle scored both goals for River, with Kelsey Ewell scoring for Fork.

andrew.giermak@suffolknewsherald.com