Photo by Amanda Boyer
Elm Sports Editor
If you’re going to win, you might as well make it interesting, right? The Washington College field hockey team has made it a habit to win in thrilling fashion so far this year. Their record stands at an even 2-2, but the two wins have both been in overtime by a score of 3-2.
The first OT win came last Wednesday, at home against Wesley College. The game was back and forth the whole way, and was almost won in regulation by the Shorewomen with a barrage of shots and penalty corners as the clock wound down. The contest was bound for a “golden-goal” overtime however (meaning the first goal wins) after neither team could break a 2-2 deadlock.
Freshman Sydney Weeks struck gold with 7:45 left in the overtime period. After receiving a pass from senior attack Gabby Tarbert to the right of the cage, Weeks scored her first collegiate goal in fine fashion—earning the team their first win of the year.
After their thrilling OT weekday win, the Shorewomen packed their bags and made the trek along the Eastern Shore to Salisbury University for their invitational tournament. The first game of the invitational for WC pitted them against Wilkes University, and it was déjà-vu for the squad.
The first half was riddled with offense and ended with a score of 2-2 after senior Kristen Wille blasted home an equalizer from the top of the circle with about seven minutes left. The second half, however, was a defensive struggle and neither team could break the 2-2 deadlock. Sound familiar?
This time, sophomore Claire McAuliffe scored the game winner in overtime, off a rebound of a Gabby Tarbert shot. The Shorewomen had another thrilling OT victory, the first back-to-back overtime wins since the 1997 season (shoutout to washingtoncollegesports.com for the great stat/research).
The win meant the team would face-off against the host Sea Gulls in the championship game of the Invitational. Early on, it looked like the Shorewomen would be headed for another tight, thrilling game. The first half came and went with no scoring, the teams tied up at 0-0. Just five minutes into the second half McAuliffe rekindled some of her former magic and put WC up 1-0 against the Gulls, who came into the game ranked fourth in the country. The lead would not last however. Salisbury would knot it up at 1-1 about two minutes later and would go on to score three more goals in the second half to win the championship game 4-1.
While the Shorewomen could not pull of the upset of the Gulls, their record still sits at 2-2, with losses only coming to nationally ranked opponents Salisbury and Catholic Universtiy. If WC can keep digging deep and coming up with such gutsy performances, 2012 looks to be a promising year for a team with an affinity for winning thrillers.