In its fourth consecutive Ivy League game this past Saturday, the field hockey team fell to the University of Pennsylvania 3-2 in the last two minutes of the second overtime period after a hard fought game. The Quakers scored the game-winning goal with a minute and 17 seconds remaining in the second overtime to give Penn its ninth-straight win. The Quakers improved to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in Ivy League play, while the Big Green dropped to 4-6 overall and 0-3 in Ivy League play.
“Our first half was a little flat, and we were not stringing together like we know how and not following our game plan which we practiced the week before,” head coach Amy Fowler said. “Luckily, our defense and our goalkeeper played well to be only down one goal. We were outshot, and problems were coming more from what we did with the ball than without it.”
The Quakers started the game strong in the first half, taking 12 shots and keeping pressure on the Big Green. After the early onslaught of attack, Penn broke through 14 minutes in for the first goal of the game a goal when Penn junior Elise Tilton played a ball to the left post where Ivy League-leading goal scorer Alexa Hoover received it and pushed it passed Paige Duffy ’17 for the early 1-0 lead. Hoover leads the League’s next top scorer by 10 goals, sitting at a comfortable lead with 21 on the season. Penn’s 1-0 lead held until halftime, which let Dartmouth readjust and prepare for a comeback.
Duffy stood on her head in the first period to keep Dartmouth in the game, preventing the Quakers from slotting their second tally of the match by making six saves in the first. Dartmouth only mustered two shots in the first half.
“I just tried to stay focused and continue sticking to saving shots to help my team be in the best opportunity to win the game,” Duffy said. “Being focused is what I try to do whenever I am playing for my team.”
To start the second half, Dartmouth came out and got on the board 47 minutes into play. Brooke Van Valkenburg ’16 ripped a shot across the goalkeeper inside the far post off of a penalty corner play with assists coming from Eliza Becker ’16 and Anna Ewasechko ’18, tying the game at a goal each.
The Quakers responded with a goal in the 57th minute after a give-and-go play in front of the net ended with Penn freshman Selena Garzio finishing past Duffy to lead 2-1.
Once again the Big Green responded. With only five minutes remaining in regular gameplay, Dartmouth’s leading goal-scorer Julia Donald ’18 notched her ninth goal of the season off of a pass from Morgan Philie ’18 to tie the score 2-2. The Big Green and the Quakers exchanged possession in the last few minutes not wanting to concede anything.
“Our whole team played well, but our defense kept us in the game to take us into overtime,” Duffy said. “The last few minutes of regulation were very much cautious in the attacking half to not be caught out in defense.”
In the first overtime period, Dartmouth was unable to register a single shot. Penn did not look very dangerous until the Quakers were awarded a penalty stroke, but Duffy again came up strong and denied Hoover, who shot wide.
The opening of the second overtime period saw matching breakaways for both teams with shots going wide. Dartmouth took four shots, but in the 98th minute of play, the Big Green fell short as Penn’s Tilton scored with a cross from the left side into the back of the net.
Penn put pressure on Duffy throughout the game with a 27-14 edge in total shots and having a 10-8 lead in penalty corners. Across the contest, the Quakers had a 16-4 advantage with shots on goal. Duffy was very busy with 13 saves, while the Quakers goalie only had two saves.
The Big Green will next play the University of Maine at home on Chase Field at 3 p.m. today.
“Maine is very fast,” Donald said. “Last year, they ran circles around us. We’re going to have to play smart hockey — which we are definitely capable of — to shut them down. We just want to keep playing hard, at this point and have fun. As an underclassman, I just want to enjoy what little time is left with the seniors, as we all are playing for them.”
Dartmouth’s previous two meetings versus Maine have both ended in losses, 5-2 and 4-2 respectively. The Black Bears look good again this year and come into the contest 12-2 on the season with a five-game win streak.
