Field Hockey Drops Two One-Goal Matchups in Pennsylvania

It didn’t matter this weekend whether Cornell was playing from ahead or from behind, as the field hockey team dropped a pair of games over the weekend to their Keystone rivals, Lock Haven and Bucknell, by a 3-2 margin in both contests.
Trailing throughout most of the contest Friday night, the Lady Eagles (4-2, 0-0 NEC) captured their first lead when it mattered most, at the 6:32 mark in overtime, to defeat the Red 3-2. Senior midfielder Blair Wynne recorded a hat trick with the winning goal.
“It hurt a little bit at first,” said sophomore midfielder Kate Thompson. “It was unfortunate to lose in overtime. It’s always frustrating to lose, but I think the game was a good one for us. It was good to get the experience of playing in overtime. They were good competition.”[img_assist|nid=31711|title=Slimmest of margins|desc=Sophomore Catie DeStio (left) was one of three players that hit the post with a shot Saturday.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
Cornell (1-3, 0-0 Ivy) jumped out to an early lead in the fifth minute of play, when senior co-captain Belen Martinez found the back of the net. The Red maintained a 1-0 for the rest of the first half.
It was not until 7:06 into the second half that Wynne tallied her first goal off of a penalty corner. Juniors Alanna Lewis and Suzann Hobart each earned an assist.
Cornell captured its second lead of the night when sophomore Mattie Prodanovic scored off a pass from Thompson.
With time winding down, Wynne tied the game at 2 with 2:04 left in regulation. Wynne’s game-winning goal came off of a two-on-one breakaway with Amy Hordendorf. After a brief exchange in front of the crease, Wynne deposited Hordendorf’s pass into the back of the net.
“We didn’t know what to expect from [Wynne],” said sophomore attack Catie De Stio. “You can’t take anything away from her. She’s a great player. Some things don’t go your way in the end unfortunately. We gave 100 percent effort the entire game. It was just a hard loss for us.”
The Lady Eagles held the advantage in shots, 13-8, while each team tallied six penalty corners.
In goal, junior Melanie Jue recorded six saves while sophomore Erin Terreson stopped five.
On Saturday, Bucknell (3-2, 0-0 Patriot) senior co-captain Amanda Faust scored the first two goals of the contest and the Bison never surrendered the lead en route to a 3-2 victory.
Faust scored at 6:33 in the first half off of a penalty corner with assists from Corinne Raczek and Morgan Kauffman. Less than five minutes later, the same trio combined again to record another score off of a penalty corner.
Junior Kelley Kantarian sliced into the Bison lead at the 24:16 mark when she took a pass from Kate Thompson and slotted it past Bucknell goalie Jessie Atieh.
In the closing seconds before the intermission, Catie De Stio sent a shot off of the inside of the goal post, but not into the net. This was one of three Cornell shots that ricocheted off the post instead of landing in the goal.
“When you hit the post, it’s a crazy feeling,” De Stio said. “You think the ball is going to go in and if it does not you have to get ready for the rebound. To hit the post three times on shots in a game is a crazy thing. It’s very hard when you’re just an inch away from making it a goal. Sometimes luck just doesn’t go your way.”
Bucknell received an insurance goal 13:44 into the second half on a shot by senior forward Katie Ruiz in front of the net to make it 3-1.
Cornell responded when Belen Martinez converted a penalty corner at the 60:20 mark for her team-leading third goal of the season.
Cornell held a 14-7 advantage in shots and a 11-8 edge in penalty corners.
Jue and junior Jessie Atieh each blocked four shots in goal.
Last year the Red didn’t suffer its third loss until the ninth game of the season, but the team enjoyed an easier schedule to begin the season.
“The team is actually playing very well,” Thompson said. “We’re still 0-0 in Ivy League play and that’s our first priority. The teams we played this weekend were tough teams. We weren’t expecting easy games. In some ways, it’s kind of nice to have that strong competition in the first two weekends. That way going into your home games, you know what to work on and you can prepare for them better. Having played against tough competition and losing has provided good motivation.”