Field Hockey: Tigers win in double OT, draw UConn in NCAA Tournament

Seventy minutes of regulation and 15 minutes of overtime were not enough to decide the NCAA Play-In Game on Tuesday afternoon, as the field hockey team and Rider remained in a scoreless tie. Four minutes intothe second overtime period, however, senior midfielder Alyssa Pyros sent a penalty corner in toward the top of the circle, where freshman midfielder Sydney Kirby was waiting. Kirby sent a hard shot into the cage, clinching an NCAA Tournament bid for the Tigers with a 1-0 sudden-death victory at Class of 1952 Stadium.

“We came into this game expecting a very tough match,” Kirby said.“They have some great players; they had a fantastic season. I wanted to go to the tournament so badly; this whole team wanted to go to the tournament.This season has been rough in many ways, but that just makes it that much sweeter."

The Tigers (10-7 overall, 6-1 Ivy League) controlled possession for much of the game, but both teams struggled to connect offensively. Both squads' defenses had numerous takeaways in the midfield and made important clears close to goal. The hosts had a 7-1 shooting advantage over Rider (19-2) in the first half, sending shots just wide or over the bar and creating scrambles close to the net.

The Rider offense, however, generated the most promising chance with less than eight minutes to go in the half. The ball was sent toward the back post on a corner play, where an unmarked Bronc was standing at the goal line, but she was unable to deflect the ball into the net. Sophomore goalie Christina Maida was forced to come way off her line to help her defense stifle another attacking opportunity by the Broncs late in the first half.

“I think we came into this game very prepared, and it was unfortunate that we hit a couple posts and some things didn’t materialize for us,” head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said. “It was the same for Rider … We just knew that we had to contain their playmakers, we had to pressure the players that want to make passes to them, and we had to maintain our shape and our discipline.”

In the second half, the Tigers again outshot their opponent, this time with a 7-5 margin. Rider goalkeeper Rebecca Lotitomanaged to stop all three attempts on goal, preventing Princeton from getting on the board in regulation. With seven minutes remaining in the second half, junior defender Charlotte Krause was hit in the head and had to exit the game after spending several minutes on the ground. She was unable to return to the field.

“We’ve been in overtime twice before this season, and it’s always stressful, especially when Charlotte Krause got hurt in the second half,” Maida said. “She couldn’t play for the rest of the game, and we’re not used to that because she’s our center back and really the foundation of our defense. But we really held our own, we had a lot of speed in front, and we really just stayed composed and poised. And we got that corner in the end and sealed the deal.”

A last-chance opportunity for the Tigers to seal the game in regulation came with less than 10 seconds to go. Princeton was awarded a corner, and sophomore midfielder Kelsey Byrne entered the ball to Kirby.Her shot wasblocked, though,and the game went to overtime.

In the first extra period, both teams came out strong and put several shots on goal. Sophomore defender Amanda Bird, who scoredfour goals inher previous two games, put a shot on net during a corner play, but Lolito blocked it. Maida made a key save to force a second overtime with the game still scoreless. As was the case earlier in the game, Rider’s defense looked vulnerable early on, butthey became more organized and harder to penetrate as time progressed.

During the second overtime, senior midfielder Erin Jennings put forth a tough physical effort to prevent Rider from capitalizing. Bird fired another shot but was again denied a goal. Maida returned the favor with back-to-back close-range saves to keep her team’s chances alive. Momentum carried the Tigers downfield on a counterattack, which set up the eventual game-winning corner play executed by Pyros and Kirby.

The Tigers will visit No. 4 Connecticut for the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Princeton faced the Huskies on the road last month and fell 3-1 despite playing well. A scheduled rematch in New Jersey was canceled due to snow.

“People did not expect us to come as far as we have,” Kirby said.“We’ve had our downs, we’ve had our ups.This is an up,and hopefully we continue this feeling through the weekend.”