MONTCLAIR, NJ (September 20, 2017) – The Vassar College field hockey team led 2-0 after the first half of play, but No. 8 Montclair State University scored two second-half goals and ended the game in overtime to post a 3-2 victory over the Brewers in non-conference action from Sprague Field.
The opening half was all Vassar College, as the Brewers controlled play in the Montclair State end for the majority of the period. VC picked up the first three penalty corners, and nearly scored on its second of the game but junior
Alyssa More's attempt was stopped by MSU keeper Kaitlin Maguire.
About a half minute later, Vassar earned its third penalty corner of the game, and
Megan Caveny potted her first of the day on a bouncing shot just inside the left post off the insert by
Mikayla Young for the 1-0 lead. The Red Hawks (8-0) got their first good chance in the eighth minute, but a Kaitlyn Struss attempt was stopped by
Liz Rotolo.
The play would be back and forth in the midfield as neither team could get into the final third for the middle 10 minutes of the half, but on a rush in the 23
rd minute Vassar doubled its advantage. On the play, VC pushed forward and Caveny collected a loose ball and fired it inside the left post for her 10
th of the season. It marked the first time all season that Montclair State had trailed by two in a game.
Vassar almost added a third in the 25
th minute, but three straight shots by Caveny,
Storm Sideleau and Young were thwarted by Maguire. MSU earned its first penalty corner of the night at 29:30 of the contest, and its best first-half opportunity went for naught as Rotolo made three saves in four seconds before VC cleared the zone.
After that flurry by the Red Hawks, VC went back on the offensive attack, and Vassar's best chance right before halftime was saved off the line by MSU defender Janell Harden on a shot from sophomore defender
Rylie Pope. The halftime stats were in largely in favor of the Brewers, holding a 12-5 shot edge along with taking nine of the opening half's 10 penalty corners.
After the intermission, Montclair State began to get its offense going firing the first three shot attempts of the half before earning a penalty corner at 46:22 of the stanza. On the corner, MSU would get on the board as Struss took a Kailey Dalgauer pass right in front of Rotolo, turned and her shot deflected into the cage to cut the VC advantage to 2-1. The goal was her 53
rd of her career, making her the all-time leading goal scorer at Montclair State University.
In the 53
rd minute, VC had back-to-back solid scoring chances but Sideleau just missed her attempt on a backhand attempt in front of goal, still earning a corner. On the ensuing penalty corner, Young had a gaping cage but Maguire scampered back to make a lunging stop of Young's shot on the left post.
The Red Hawks would get the equalizer in the 57
th minute, as Haslett potted her seventh of the season on a pass from Meghan Mollahan to make the score 2-2. With just over five minutes to play, Vassar sophomore
Cristina Lopez made an interception and charged into the circle to earn a corner. On the corner for VC, Lopez's shot was saved by Maguire on a lifted, backhand attempt.
Later in the second half, the Red Hawks appeared to have taken the lead in the 69
th minute on a score from Haslett, but the goal was waved off as the shot off the penalty corner was too high before it entered the cage. Neither team would have another chance in the final minutes, as the game went to overtime.
In the overtime period, Montclair State earned the game-winner 4:09 into the period as the Red Hawks converted a turnover in the midfield, pushed the ball forward and Struss fired in her second of the day to help keep MSU undefeated. VC earned a 13-4 penalty corner edge, winning the shot battle 15-13.
VC got eight saves from Rotolo on the evening, while her counterpart Maguire in cage for Montclair State made nine stops. Caveny finished with a team-best four shots for Vassar, while Struss led all players with seven shots including six on net.
The Brewers (5-2) will look to shake off the loss Saturday, hosting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Weinberg Field in the Liberty League opener for both teams at 2 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, NY.
