ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Catholic women's field hockey team traveled up to Elizabethtown looking to defend its unbeaten Landmark streak. After a gritty battle through full time, two overtime periods, and a shootout, the Cardinals ultimately fell to the Blue Jays.
Elizabethtown threatened to score first, earning a penalty stroke in the 8th minute. The Blue Jays' Caroline Hartley stepped up to the line, and took aim on the left side of the goal. Goalkeeper Camryn Lowman, reading the flick, made a diving save to the left to keep the score at zero apiece.
Elizabethtown continued to put pressure on the Catholic defense throughout the quarter, logging one corner and four shots to Catholic's none.
After the shorter quarter break, the Cardinals had a newfound fire. Catholic found its way onto the scoreboard in the second minute of the second quarter. After bringing the ball into the offensive third, Tess Hake found teammate
Molly Romano. The junior then connected with
Maddie Pennisi around the sticks of the Jays. Reyes, with defenders closing in, passed it back to Romano who was at the top of the circle. The junior took the opportunity and drove the ball into the back of the boards from her position at the top of the circle. Catholic now held an early 1-0 lead over Elizabethtown, thanks to Romano's third goal of the season.
Early in the second half, Hope Wagner attempted to double the lead, but Elizabethtown's Lily DeBlasio earned herself a save in the process. In the 38th minute of play, Elizabethtown collected a corner. Hailey Meyer inserted the ball to teammate Hannah Long, who then sent it back to the inserter. Meyer drove the ball through the defense and past Lowman, tallying a goal for the Blue Jays and tying the score.
The Blue Jays kept putting the Cardinals into defensive mode, recording 3 shots and two corners in just three minutes late in the fourth quarter. Elizabethtown's Meyer scored in the 58th minute, seemingly putting the game away, but Catholic was not about to let go of its unbeaten record easily.
Catholic, now down by one with less than two minutes, played with a fury. Sophia Sullivan played a key role in getting the Cardinals back into the circle. After doing so, the freshman connected with Hake a few feet away. Hake drove the ball to her close side of the goal. The ball traveled just beyond the foot of the goalkeeper, smacking into the bottom of the boards to even the score 2-2.
Time expired shortly after the game tying goal, sending the squads into overtime. In the first overtime period, Catholic outshot Elizabethtown 3 to 1, but they were unable to convert. After ten more minutes of overtime play, neither team was able to score, resulting in a penalty shootout.
After five strokes apiece, each team collected one goal and four misses. Romano tallied a make for Catholic on the first attempt, while Meyer made hers on the fourth attempt for Elizabethtown. This sent the game into a golden goal scenario. Meyer once again stepped up for the Blue Jays, pulled Lowman to the right, and sent her ball into the boards. Romano, who had scored in the previous attempt, was called upon by her team. The junior tried to pull the goalkeeper to the right, but Lilly DeBlasio was able to block the shot with her pads. After a long, hard fought battle, the Cardinals fell for the first time in the Landmark this season.
Inside the Box Score:
- With her assist in the second quarter, senior Bella Reyes earned her first assist of the season.
- Goalie Camryn Lowman made a career high 11 saves on the night. This also marks the second time the sophomore has reached double digit saves.
- Tess Hake recorded her second goal of the year, making herself the fifth Cardinal to score multiple goals this season.
Up next, the Cardinals will look to get back in the win column at home at 7 pm on Saturday, October 17th. Catholic will cap off Cardinal Weekend with its matchup against Drew.
