Taryn Murray '13 faced off with a Mount Holyoke Lyon before scoring the winning goal in double overtime.
Facing a one-goal deficit with just minutes left to play on Wednesday night, the Wesleyan University field hockey team fought back against the Mount Holyoke Lyons to net the equalizer and force the game into overtime. In the second extra period, the Cardinals went on to secure their first victory of the 2011 season on a sudden-death goal by Taryn Murray ’13.
The Cardinals put the pressure on Mount Holyoke from the start on Wednesday night, taking four penalty corners in the opening seven minutes of the game. Wesleyan threatened with six shots in the first half and maintained possession in its offensive end of the field for much of the half, yet the team was unable to put up a score.
18 minutes into the game, Mount Holyoke capitalized on one of its few opportunities of the half, as forward Jess Farjado redirected a shot by midfielder Kirsten Kilburn and found the back of the goal to give the Lyons a 1-0 lead that would carry into halftime.
A yellow card awarded to Mount Holyoke forward Shara Robertson in the early minutes of the second half gave Wesleyan a player advantage, but the home team was unable to capitalize and remained searching for its first goal of the season.
The Cardinals found that first goal with just six minutes remaining in the contest, as Blair Ingraham ’14 scored off an assist by Murray on a play that originated from one of Wesleyan’s 12 penalty corners of the contest. With Ingraham’s goal tying the score, the Cardinals forced the game into overtime.
The teams traded runs of possession in the first fifteen-minute overtime period as Wesleyan secured penalty corners early while Mount Holyoke threatened with shots late. Both teams were unable to find the back of the net in the first half of overtime play, holding the fans in suspense as play continued into the second half.
The Cardinals did not make the fans wait much longer, however, as just 90 seconds into the second period of overtime, Wesleyan would score the game-winner. Ashley McLaren ’13 secured the ball on the left side near midfield off a set piece deep in the Wesleyan defensive end, running towards the end-line before taking a shot on goal. McLaren’s shot was blocked by the Lyons’ goalkeeper, who cleared the ball out to the top of the circle, where Taylor Wells ’14 took possession and found Murray on the right side. Murray received the pass and fired a shot on goal to net the game-winner, quickly being bombarded by teammates and starting the Wesleyan celebration amongst the crowd.
With this win over Mount Holyoke, the Cardinals are now 1-1 for the 2011 season. The team returns to NESCAC conference play this Saturday, as they travel to Massachusetts to take on the eighth-ranked Tufts University Jumbos (1-1) at noon.