Box Score
PURCHASE GAME DVD
BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Sophomore Rachael Loy fired a shot at the keeper and put the rebound into the back of the net just one minute into overtime on Tuesday evening to propel the Bridgewater Eagles field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Shenandoah Hornets.
The win was Bridgewater's fourth in a row and moved the Eagles into sole possession of fourth place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference standings.
Bridgewater (9-3, 3-1 ODAC) looked to take the lead out of the gate when Taylor Prillaman fired a shot into the back of the cage just 2:39 into the contest. Following the goal, it was determined that the shot was illegal and the goal was called off to keep the game at a scoreless deadlock.
Both teams had opportunities in the latter part of the first half but the game would go into the intermission tied, 0-0.
Shenandoah (6-9, 2-2 ODAC) applied the pressure late in the first half and owned a 6-3 advantage in shots in the first frame and posted a 3-1 advantage in corners.
Out of the halftime break, it was Bridgewater going on the attack, drawing a pair of early corners which led to shots, but Shenandoah netminder Sarah Clare was up to the task, turning away both attempts to keep the game scoreless.
Head Coach Allyson Kenyon used a timeout early in the 53rd minute which proved effective as the Eagles took the lead shortly after the stoppage. At the 53:38 mark, senior Colleen Dickson scored a goal off of a scrum in front of the cage to put the Eagles out in front, 1-0.
Following the Bridgewater tally, Shenandoah looked to respond quickly and finally broke through in the waning minutes of regulation. Tori Finney fired a shot high late in the 66th minute before taking a pass from Taylor Little and beating the keeper with a shot to tie the game up at a goal each with four minutes remaining.
Bridgewater had a pair of looks at the net in the final minutes of regulation but shots from Caroline Fletcher and Sarah Rozell both went wide as the game headed to an extra session.
The Eagles wasted little time in tallying the game-winning goal as Loy broke through the Shenandoah defense on the opposite side of the field and worked the ball into the circle. The sophomore fired a shot at Clare and the Hornets' goalie came up with the initial save but lost the ball and both players dove for the loose ball and Loy trickled a shot into the back of the net just one minute into overtime to finalize the scoring and hand Bridgewater a 2-1 win.
The goal for Loy extended her goal scoring streak to four games and marked her second game-winning goal in as many outings.
Bridgewater outshot Shenandoah over the final 36 minutes of play by an 8-4 margin to own an 11-10 edge in shots. Three Eagles led the offense with two shots each.
Senior Jessica Balsano made three saves in the win to record her ninth win of the year.
Ashley Cross led the Hornets with three shots on the evening, while Clare made four saves in the loss.
Bridgewater is back in action on Friday when it hosts Eastern Mennonite. Start time against the Royals is set for 4 p.m.
