SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Sept. 15, 2010) – Junior forward Morgan McCauley found the back of the cage 9:07 into overtime to boost the Wesleyan University field hockey team to a thrilling 3-2 triumph over Mount Holyoke College this evening at the Mount Holyoke Turf Field. With their second straight win over the Lyons, the Cardinals improved to 2-0 on the year. Mount Holyoke suffered its first loss of the 2010 campaign.
The Lyons jumped out to a 1-0 advantage just over three minutes into the contest, when junior forward Jess Fajardo redirected an Amy Spekhardt shot past Wesleyan goalkeeper Tori Redding. The goal came off of a penalty corner set.
Refusing to go away, Wesleyan struck back with the equalizer in the 24th minute. After receiving a cross from senior midfielder Jamie Thabault on the left side, junior forward Liz Chabot blasted a shot past Mount Holyoke junior goalkeeper Katie Gibson.
The Cardinals grabbed a 2-1 lead in the waning minutes of the first half, when Chabot collected a long feed from senior midfielder Allie Lynch and beat Gibson from close range.
With the outcome of the contest all but determined, Mount Holyoke made its final push in the last minute of regulation. The Lyons were awarded a penalty corner as time expired, setting the stage for one of their most dramatic goals in recent memory. After receiving the injection, junior defender Tricia Chase fired a pass to classmate Shara Robertson, who scored from point blank range. Robertson's fourth tally of the season sent the match to overtime.
Despite controlling play for the majority of the extra session, Mount Holyoke was unable to place a shot past Redding. The sophomore came up with two big saves in the period and kept her team in just long enough to allow McCauley to post the winner in the 80th minute. The clinching goal was set up by sophomore midfielder Ashley McLaren, whose short pass drew Gibson out of position and opened up a clear path to the cage for McCauley.
Wesleyan finished with edges in both shots (22-10) and penalty corner chances (19-10). Redding made five stops en route to the win. At the other end, Gibson posted 12 saves for the Lyons.
Mount Holyoke (2-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will kick off its NEWMAC slate on Friday at Smith College beginning at 4:00 p.m. Meanwhile, Wesleyan (2-0, 1-0 NESCAC) is scheduled to visit Colby College for a NESCAC tilt on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
