WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Despite tallying a season-high 37 shots, the Washington & Jefferson College field hockey team dropped a 2-1 decision in a shootout to Nazareth Saturday afternoon in Empire 8 Field Hockey action at Cameron Stadium. 

W&J finishes the season at 3-5 in E8 play and 5-8 overall. The loss eliminated the Presidents from Empire 8 Tournament contention. With the win, Nazareth (5-3 E8, 6-10) snagged the No. 4 seed in the four-team tournament, which starts on Tuesday. 

Lindsey Diggan (Sinking Spring, Pa./Governor Mifflin) got the Presidents on the board first with an unassisted goal in the 10th minute of the match. Diggan collected a loose ball, dribbled toward the cage and scored past Nazareth goalkeeper Amanda Chuttey. The goal was the sixth of the season for Diggan. 

The lead was short-lived as the Golden Flyers evened the score in the final minute of the first quarter. An unassisted goal by Grace Wasileski made the score 1-1 after 15 minutes of play. 

W&J dominated the third and fourth quarters, as they out-shot Nazareth by a 20-1 margin over the final 30 minutes. Additionally, W&J recorded all eight penalty corners in the second half.    Sophomore midfielder Grace Kirwin (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington) tallied four shots, all of which were on goal, in the third quarter. Perhaps W&J's best chance in the fourth quarter when Madison Devine (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) gathered a rebound but her shot went just wide of the cage. 

The Presidents continued to gain scoring chances in the two overtime sessions, as the Red and Black recorded seven of the nine shots and eight of the nine corner opportunities. 

Nazareth earned the victory by besting W&J by a 2-1 margin in a best of five shootout. Sophomore midfielder Emily Heck (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) tallied the lone successful attempt in the shootout for W&J. 

Sophomore forward Hailey Wachowiak (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) finished with a match-high nine shots while Diggan tallied eight. Sophomore goalkeeper Anastasia Godat (Baltimore, Md./Concordia Prep) finished with a pair of saves in 80 minutes of work. Chuttey registered 25 saves for Nazareth in the victory. 

W&J finished with advantages in shots (37-9), shots on goal (29-5) and penalty corners (21-3). The 37 shots are the most for W&J since recording 46 against Nazareth on Sept. 22, 2018. 

The Presidents honored Ashley Kunkle (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs), Tiana Swierski (Phoenix, Ariz./Hammond (Md.)) and Madeline Hubbard (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) prior to the Senior Day match. Each made valuable contributions to the program the past four seasons. The trio were freshmen on the 2018 squad, which earned the first NCAA Tournament victory by a women's program at W&J. The 2018 squad also advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 Round.