Overtime produces mixed results for field hockey

After knocking off non-conference foe Mount Holyoke 3-2 in overtime last Wedenesday, the field hockey team fell to 4-5 (2-3 NESCAC) with a 3-2 overtime loss to Colby (2-5, 1-4) in Waterville, ME on Saturday.

Thirty-four shots in regulation yielded only one goal against Mt. Holyoke. Mt. Holyoke goalie Allie Walsh was peppered like King Kong atop the Empire State Building throughout the game, yet stood valiantly with 33 saves. Meanwhile Courtney Tetrault ’07, Julia Perciasepe ’07, Amanda Nickels ’08, and Molly Adams ’07 each blasted at least 5 shots on goal.

“We had no problem getting the ball into the circle,” starter Alexa David ’10 said. “We just had trouble converting good looks and shots into goals.”

The Cardinals held a 1-0 lead near the end of regulation after Nickels’s goal assisted by Perciasepe started the scoring. However, a Mt. Holyoke goal late in the second half sent the game into extra frames. Only 1:35 into overtime the winning shot was fired by Molly Adams off a feed by Tetrault to lock up the “W” for Wes 2-1.

Last Saturday a NESCAC confrontation between the Wesleyan and Colby also ended in overtime, however the Cardinals could not duplicate the same clutch success. Colby jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first half and kept Wes in check for most of the game.

Never going down without a fight, Wesleyan stormed back in the final dozen minutes with goals by Hailey Sarage ’09 and Perciasepe (both on assists by Tetrault). The tying goal came with only 27 seconds left in regulation.

The first overtime went by without any scoring or even many scoring opportunities. However only seconds into the second overtime Colby scored the game-winning goal to put a sour ending to the Cardinals’ comeback hopes.

Wesleyan is set to travel to Eastern Connecticut on Wednesday and then Bates College on Saturday—two games that are vital to the team’s playoff hopes.

“We are still alive for the playoffs, with 4 NESCAC games still to play,” David said. “We must continue to assert our style of play in the first half and realistically win almost all of our coming games.”