By Carson Metzker
Elm Staff Writer
The Washington College field hockey team faced off against rival Gettysburg on Saturday, Sept. 16. The Shorewomen entered the game with a record of 2-3, after recently suffering a 3-0 loss to Salisbury.
In the 2016 season, the Shorewomen played away at Gettysburg, losing in double overtime with controversy following the game. The Shorewomen had initially scored during the sudden-death overtime period, and were exiting the field when the referees called the goal back. The two teams had already shaken hands, and were heading to their respective locker rooms when the referees deemed the goal illegal. The Shorewomen then lost in double overtime to the Bullets.
Gettysburg, the Shorewomen’s conference season opener, had a standing record of 1-4. The Bullets, however, had been fierce competition in all their games. Their biggest loss was by a two-goal deficit, while two of their previous games had gone into overtime.
The Shorewomen scored after just two minutes into the contest. Freshman Grace Steele scored a quick goal off of a pass from fellow freshman Kailyn Brandt. The Shorewomen dominated the first five minutes of the game, keeping the ball in the opponent’s defensive end. The Bullets responded with 26:48 left in the half with a goal off a corner.
The game was scoreless for an additional 20 minutes, until the Bullets rifled in another goal.
The first half ended with Gettysburg leading by one goal with a score of 2-1. The Bullets were able to make a defensive stand until the scoring drought was broken by Brandt with 11:38 left in the game. Brandt outworked her defender in the corner of field and fired a reverse shot into the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2.
The Shorewomen had a chance to take the lead off a penalty stroke with 1:04 left in regulation. The stroke, taken by sophomore Sophie Grabiec, was contested off a sliding save by the Bullets goalie. Regulation ended in a tie, resulting in an overtime. Despite the Shorewomen taking eight shots in the first overtime period, the score remained level.
After the first 15 minute overtime period, the game then entered a second overtime. With 13:20 left in double overtime, junior Emily Pantazes scored the game winning goal off of a deflected shot taken by junior Olivia Auer. This was Pantazes’s fourth goal on the year, bringing her total points to eight. She was then named the Goose Nation TV Shorewoman Player of the Game.
The Shorewomen were led in stats by their junior goalkeeper Morgan Domanico. Domanico made nine saves, while only allowing two goals. Brandt also had a strong showing, finishing the game with one goal and one assist. This brings her to a total of six points on the year.
Domanico was excited to take a solid win over Gettysburg, especially after last season’s controversial call.
“Winning against Gettysburg has been something the entire team has been thinking about since we lost last year. This has been our goal coming out of preseason,” she said. “There’s some poetic satisfaction in winning against them. We waited a year to prove ourelves. We’re proud of the outcome, but were even prouder that we earned it together as a team.”
The Shorewomen look to continue their success in conference play with a home game against Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins has been off to a strong start, as they will be entering the game with a record of 5-1. The game will take place at home at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. There will be a live stream available to watch the game online.