SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Ally Slicer scored with 1:39 remaining in sudden-victory overtime, giving visiting Wheaton College a 1-0 NEWMAC victory over the Mount Holyoke field hockey team on Saturday at the MHC Turf.
Grace Ferguson made 15 saves and Wheaton (5-5, 2-2 NEWMAC) tallied three defensive saves in holding Mount Holyoke (4-6, 0-3 NEWMAC) scoreless despite a 29-17 advantage in shots and a 15-2 advantage in penalty corners.
A scoreless but fast-paced first half of regulation time saw both teams take eight shots, with Mount Holyoke holding a 6-3 advantage in the first quarter and Wheaton countering with a 5-2 edge in the second quarter.
Mount Holyoke kept the ball in Wheaton's defensive end for much of the third quarter and outshot the visitors 11-0 in the period, including a sequence of five penalty corners and nine shots within two minutes of action. In that sequence, Abby Miller had a defensive save on Mount Holyoke junior Mackenzie Hillman, Maddie Labreck had a defensive save against Mount Holyoke junior Scout Climie (Guilford, Conn.), one shot was blocked, two went wide, and Ferguson made four saves to preserve the scoreless tie.
The final five minutes of regulation exemplified the game's intensity and back-and-forth pace. Mount Holyoke senior goalie Ainsley Gruener (Topsfield, Mass.) made back-to-back saves on Kayla Wilonski and Gia Marotta on Wheaton's second penalty corner late in the game, then made another stop on Hannah Fortin with 2:35 left. Mount Holyoke's final corner of regulation, taken with 1:48 remaining, resulted in an extended standoff in the Wheaton circle, with Ferguson stopping a point-blank shot by junior Diane Lee (Boston, Mass.), then Miller making a defensive save on sophomore MJ Owens (Fairfield, Conn.) on the follow.
Mount Holyoke first-year Rory Bernardo (Oaklyn, N.J.) threatened to end the game with three shots saved by Ferguson in overtime, and Lee nearly connected on the rebound of the third attempt with 6:45 left in OT. Prior to that, Mount Holyoke senior Taylor Vettori (Etna, N.H.) hustled back on a Wheaton breakaway to make a defensive save on an attempt by Wilonski. Slicer collected the rebound and sent a shot over the Mount Holyoke cage. Minutes later, Vettori would dispossess the ball from Slicer on another threatening breakaway.
But after more than 68 scoreless minutes of action, Slicer made an outstanding individual play to end the game, winning a loose ball to get past a defender, then pushing the ball into a shooting lane for a 10-foot finish inside the far right post. The goal was Slicer's second this season.
Mount Holyoke next plays at Wellesley Tuesday at 6pm; Wheaton will host Johnson & Wales Tuesday at 7pm.
