LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
Alicia Hudson's goal with just three minutes remaining in the second overtime vaulted the Bellarmine field hockey team to a 3-2 victory over Davidson College on Sunday morning at Trager Stadium.
After a restart deep in the home side of the field,
Anna Crump dribbled in the center of the field and dropped off a pass to Hudson on the right wing, who took a reset dribble and fired the winning shot to the left side of the goal. The Davidson defense was in position, but the ball caromed off the defender and found the left side of the cage for the golden goal victory.
"Wow! What a fun team win for Bellarmine field hockey!" exclaimed Bellarmine Coach
Devanny Boisvert. "It was a total team effort, and this group had to dig deep to earn our first division I overtime win — another special milestone we've hit."
Bellarmine played from behind most of the game, with the visiting Wildcats controlling the tempo for most of the first three quarters. The Wildcats notched the first goal of the game 3:51 into the third period when Sarah Minges converted on a penalty corner.
The Knights got the equalizer at the 4:44 mark of the third quarter when
Sophie Stoll drove along the endline and passed to
Paige Hoyer in front of the goal, who collected the pass and got off a clean shot for the score.
While it looked as though the teams would head into the fourth quarter knotted at one, Davidson had time for one last chance, and the Wildcats capitalized with just four clicks left on the clock as Abby Pompeo converted from short range off a pass from Liv Goeke.
Again, the Knights squared the contest on a goal from Hoyer. This time it was
Peyton Hobson who drove the endline and dished to Hoyer for the game-tying goal with 8:44 remaining in regulation.
While the Wildcats were limited to just one off-target shot the remainder of the fourth quarter, the Knights had a great opportunity to end the game in regulation, drawing a penalty corner with just three seconds remaining on the clock. The insert was re-directed to
Bente Moormann whose potential game winner was blocked.
The game then moved to sudden death overtime, which is played seven on seven to open up the field. While both teams had chances, neither side could find the game-winner in the first 10-minute period, so the game moved into a second OT.
Both teams saw penalty corner opportunities squandered in the second extra session before Hudson ended it with exactly 3:00 showing on the clock.
For the game, Davidson enjoyed advantages in shots (19-14) and penalty corners (9-6), but Bellarmine goalkeeper
Kailey Workman turned in another solid effort with nine saves, compared to just four for the Wildcats.
"I was happy to see us stay in the game even when we were down," Boisvert said. "Paige had a great day with finding the net, and I was pleased with how we built the attack in overtime from Anna to Alicia. Alicia was determined when she entered the circle to score. This group is special and I'm proud to be a part of it!"
The Knights can enjoy the victory for a short time before they return to action on Friday when they make their Mid-American Conference season debut at 3 p.m. in Trager Stadium against Appalachian State.
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