Thanks to an overtime goal by women’s field hockey senior defender Maura Tumetly, the Cavaliers beat 11th ranked The College of New Jersey, 2-1 in overtime at Edith Robb Dixon Field.
At the game, held Tuesday, Sept. 13, both teams were aggressive as the ball made it down either side of the field within the first seven minutes. Cabrini totaled three shots on goal to TCNJ’s one. The quarter, however, finished in a 0-0 tie.
TCNJ had multiple scoring opportunities on their offensive side of the field to start off the second quarter. With the efforts of Tumetly, senior midfielder Olivia Sims, and sophomore goalie Courtney Keith, the Cavs got the ball out of their zone. The first 10 minutes of the second quarter were all TCNJ; the Lions had three penalty corners and four shots on goal.
Toward the end of the first half, TCNJ appeared frustrated because of the Cavaliers’ stellar defense. The Lions got more aggressive, using their bodies against the Cavaliers. Despite domination from TCNJ, the game was tied at zero going into the half.
Hope in the air during Cavaliers’ halftime meeting
Daly Ewing, junior forward, said, “After the first half, I think we all believed that we could do this.”
The second half started with a Lions’ possession. One minute and 40 seconds into the third quarter, Sophia Foschini, TCNJ junior midfielder, recorded a green card, giving Cabrini a player advantage. With 3:53 left in the third quarter, Kayla Cichlar, TCNJ senior midfielder, broke the shutout to put the Lions up 1-0. With a minute left, the Cavaliers made a strong push into TCNJ’s territory, but couldn’t get the job done.
In the fourth quarter, with 8:44 left, the game’s whole momentum changed. Cabrini had six penalty corners in a row and got six shots within a 4:56 period.
After the sixth corner attempt, thanks to Ewing, the Cavaliers finally put one in the back of the cage. According to Morgan McClintock, sophomore midfielder, she felt a momentum change, “It was a crazy goal and got all of us hyped because there were three minutes left and it secured our chances of winning. I think right when overtime hit we were all pumped up.”
There was still time to be played in the fourth, and the Cavaliers kept the ball on their offensive side for the game’s final minutes. At the end of regulation, the score was tied 1-1, and was heading into overtime.
Sudden death decided the winner and loser
TCNJ started with the ball in overtime. The Lions made a push into the Cavaliers’ circle, but the defense quickly countered the attack. On the other end of the field, Cabrini took back-to-back corner attempts, which resulted in two shots by Caroline Gallagher, junior midfielder and two-time offensive player of the week
After a clutch steal by Tumetly, McClintock ended up with a yellow card in the far corner. A minute later, Sophie Popp, TCNJ graduate student, got a yellow card of her own to even out the teams. With 5:11 left in overtime, Gallagher shot and was blocked by a defender on TCNJ. The shot was passed across the crease by Maggie Cella, freshman forward, then hit out of the air by Tumetly into the back of the cage. The crowd and team went wild as the Cavalier roster ran onto the field to celebrate with their goal scorer.
The Cavaliers are 7-2 on the season as they prepare for a matchup against Alvernia University on Saturday Oct. 1 at 10 a.m.
