Saints Put Up Tough Fight, but Red Dragons Win 3-2 in Double OT
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Tara FreemanSenior Jennifer Stetson played a solid game, defensively and offensively for the Saints.
Oct. 28: The St. Lawrence University field hockey team, ranked 16th in the national polls and 2nd in the region, played a game full of heart Wednesday against Cortland State, ranked # 6th in the national polls and 1st in the region, but were defeated in double overtime 3-2. The outcome of the game doesn't do justice to the fight the Saints put up on North Country Field.
The Scarlet and Brown outshot the Red Dragons 31-29. They also had three more opportunities off penalty corners with 18 to Cortland's 15. Senior goalkeeper Emilie Lannamann made 14 saves for the Saints, while Ashley Hughes accumulated 12. St. Lawrence now holds the number three spot in the conference, going into the Liberty League Tournament.
In the first half , the Saints were on fire in their defensive end. The Red Dragons came out strong offensively, but the Scarlet and Brown were there to clear the ball. Cortland had a nice give and go early in the first period, but the Saints intercepted the pass.
Junior Brooke Maloney had two opportunities in the first four minutes of the game as she dribbled deep into the Red Dragon's circle, but Hughes was there to make the save. Maloney and sophomore Taylor Vogt created some nice passing sequences up the right wing, while senior Jennifer Stetson was solid in the Saints back end.
Maloney took a huge shot with 20 minutes left to play, which was almost tipped in by junior Michelle Laframboise. Unfortunately, the Saints couldn't find the back of the net.
With 13 minutes left to play, Cortland created some possible opportunities. The Red Dragons got two big shots off with 11:51 on the clock, but Lannamann pulled through for the Scarlet and Brown.
In the 24th minute, Brenda Semit put one on the board for Cortland off a pass from Christine McCabe. The duo set up an impressive give-and-go, leading Semit to put the ball past Lannamann in the low right corner.
The Saints responded just 20 seconds later, as Maloney passed the ball in front of the goal to junior Kelsey Berry who swept the ball into the left corner to tie the score.
Cortland had a few more shots on goal towards the end of the period, but Lannamann was there to shut the Red Dragons down.
In the second half, Stetson nailed a hard shot at Hughes. Junior Caitlin Estes got her stick on the ball and tipped it into the high right corner to put the Saints up 2-1.
St. Lawrence held the lead for the majority of the second period. The Red Dragons created some opportunities, specifically off a few penalty corners. However, the Saints stood tall in the back end.
With roughly five minutes left to play, Cortland was awarded a penalty corner. McCabe passed the ball to Sara Woodward who fired it into the right corner to tie the score at 2. The Saints worked hard with little time left to play to find the back of the net, but couldn't slide the ball past Hughes.
The game entered into a first overtime and the Scarlet and Brown dominated play. The Saints outshot the Red Dragons 12-2. Stetson has some hard shots on net, while senior Joss-Elyse Smith took on a few one v one opportunities. Despite their effort, they couldn't seem to finish.
The majority of the 15 minute overtime was spent in Cortland's end. Maloney had two outstanding opportunities with seven minutes to play, but she shot just wide. Lannamann was a wall in net, refusing to let the ball past.
The Saints had two penalty corner opportunities with zero time on the clock, but couldn't up the score.
Another 15 minutes was added to the clock, and within the first two minutes, the Red Dragons were awarded a corner. Christine McCabe slid the ball past Lannamann into the right coner to earn the win for Cortland.
The Saints look to bounce back in preparation for the Liberty League Tournament, which will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 4.