EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Battling back after an early West Chester goal, the ESU field hockey team scored two unanswered to defeat the Golden Rams and advance to the PSAC Semifinals with a 2-1 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
West Chester entered the postseason needing a tournament run to keep its NCAA hopes alive, and the Golden Rams came out swinging early in the first quarter. After getting the game's first penalty corner, Veerle Hersman received the insert on the left side of the circle, beating goalkeeper
Sydney Pope with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter. ESU got its first corner of the game a minute later, but midfielder
Elaiana Rivera-Lagalla's shot went wide of the net.
The Warriors stayed on the defensive end in the second quarter, with the Golden Rams pressing for an insurance goal. Despite shots on target by Anna Finn and Hersman, Pope stood tall, making both saves to keep the deficit at one after the first half.
The comeback started immediately out of the break for ESU, evening the score quickly in the third quarter. Midfielder
Lisa Pasman came up with a takeaway at midfield, creating a 3-on-2 going the other way. She passed it up to forward
Rylie McGrath, who entered the circle from the left side. Similar to the goal she scored earlier in the year against West Chester on the same field, she worked her way back towards the middle before firing a shot past Erin O'Brien with 3:18 into the frame.
Both teams survived green cards assessed to them in the third and fourth quarters, with the Warriors killing off two in the final period. The game seemed to be headed for overtime, but ESU kept pushing in the offensive zone. O'Brien made a stop on a shot by Rivera-Lagalla off a corner, though the Warriors maintained possession. After a foul on the Golden Rams, defender
Piper Patrick shot the ball toward traffic from outside the circle. Forward
Emily Dobrowolski got a stick on it, as the ball bounced high into the air before bouncing right between O'Brien's legs with 1:11 remaining.
West Chester couldn't get a clean look at the equalizer, as ESU killed the rest of the clock and ran out the final minute to hold on to its 2-1 lead.
UP NEXT
The Warriors return to the PSAC Semifinals for the 12
th straight season with a matchup against Kutztown next on the schedule. ESU takes on the Golden Bears at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, in Shippensburg, Pa.
