It was a heartbreaking weekend for the field hockey team as it was on the losing end of two overtime games against Ivy rival Penn and Rutgers, 3-2, and 1-0, respectively.
“I think we played really well,” said senior co-captain Katie Bradshaw. “Unfortunately we lost in both overtimes, but we’re a resilient team and we’re not going to let those two loses hold us back.”
The Red started off its weekend by traveling to Philadelphia and suffering its first loss off the season by a 3-2 margin. Penn came into the game with a 1-4 record while the Red was riding a 3-0 start. However, the Quakers were able to force overtime late in the game and win on a penalty shot.
“We’re extremely disappointed with the results but we played well in both games,” said head coach Donna Hornibrook. “We had the lead with 10 minutes left against Penn but it just didn’t go our way.”
Junior Helena Haas and freshman Kate Thompson scored the two goals for the Red while junior co-captain Belen Martinez had both assists.
Penn’s Rachel Eng and Kara Bolger scored the two regulation goals for the Quakers with Bolger making the game-tying goal to force the contest into overtime. Penn’s Kathryn Rose stuck the final dagger in the Red’s chances of starting the season with four straight victories.
The loss caused the Red to drop to 3-1 (1-1 Ivy) while Penn improved its mark to 2-4 (1-1 Ivy).
“It was a tight game last year and it was a tight game this year too,” Hornibrook said. “That just shows how close the competition is in the Ivies.”
The Red came back to Ithaca to match up with Rutgers (4-3) for the second half of its weekend doubleheader. It was a defensive battle all day as the game went scoreless until the overtime goal scored by Rutgers’ Amy Lewis. Rutgers had a 14-13 advantage in shots while both goalies were outstanding on the day, with senior Lizzie Goldblatt making five saves and Rutgers’ Rosalyn Wentko making eight saves.
“Rutgers is the best team we’ve played, so it was tough playing them without having a day off after such an emotionally draining game against Penn,” Hornibrook said. “The fact that we were able to take them to overtime shows the determination of our team.”
This loss caused the Red to drop to 3-2 (1-1 Ivy).
“It’s unfortunate that we lost in overtime,” Bradshaw said. “But there’s a lot of chance involved in OT and sometimes those games can really be hit or miss.”
Unfortunately the Red was on the missing end of both games but the team is still excited for the rest of the season including their next game against Ivy opponent Yale.
“We should be able to bounce back well,” Bradshaw said. “We’re very excited about moving forward and playing against Yale on Friday night.”