In the last 9:21 of Cornell field hockey’s final game of the season, the team came back from two goals behind against Dartmouth to tie the game. The Red then defeated its opponent in overtime with a goal by sophomore forward Katie Carlson.
“The last 10 minutes were definitely the most intense, but also the most exciting,” Carlson said. “It was incredible to see how hard every single person was working, and I think everyone executed their individual roles extremely well, which is something we’ve talked about all season, and how we ended up with a great performance as a whole team.”
With an outperforming offensive team, senior back Marisa Sergiej was confident in the team’s ability. The Red had 29 shots to Dartmouth’s seven.
“Getting that goal in overtime was the most exciting part of the game,” Sergiej said. “We had the momentum after coming back with two goals to tie the game, so I knew if we kept shooting, we’d get the goal.”
Sergiej was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year yesterday. Joining her with Ivy honors are first team All-Ivy forward Katy Weeks and second team All-Ivy forward Krysten Mayers. Sergiej described the way the team worked together as a major factor in coming out victorious.
“Being able to erase a two goal deficit was a testament to our team’s maturity and determination,” Sergiej said. “We just kept pushing forward and were able to come back at the end of the second half.”
Carlson said she agreed that team has maturity over the course of the season.
“I think what was so impressive was the composure we kept when time was running out,” Carlson said. “We were able to execute when those areas could have fallen apart.”
This was not the first time that the Red has been in an overtime situation against an Ivy League opponent this season. Cornell faced the same circumstances in its game against Penn.
“We had a really similar situation in our first Ivy game this year actually, where we were down and scored two goals with under ten minutes left, but ended with the opposite result in overtime,” Carlson said. “It just shows how far we came this season”
The Red ends the season with a record of 5-2 in the Ivy League and is second in the league for the second year in a row. Overall Cornell had 11 wins this season, tying the school record.
“We have room for improvement,” Carlson said. “But I’m proud of our result because we didn’t let a league loss at the beginning of the season get us down.”
Ending the season with a victory was especially meaningful for the whole team and is certainly a great end to the seniors’ careers at Cornell, according to Carlson.
“We really wanted to send our seniors off with a win in their last game, but it was also important for our momentum moving into the offseason,” Carlson said. “Our seniors have worked so hard to improve our program over the four years they’ve been here.”
The seniors are also appreciative of the rest of their team and hope for the best for the younger players.
“I’m happy to send off my younger teammates with a win,” Siergiej said. “They showed a lot of grit during the game, and I hope this game proved to them that they are capable of achieving their goals even with adversity against them.”