Putting yourself in the shoes of a hockey player, is there anything more terrifying than being cursed to play in a game that never ends? On October 22, the field hockey team was forced to live through this nightmare, but instead of fear, they showed strength and won the game against DeSales 2-1.
Going into this game, the Ducks were 12-2 for the season, an impressive record. They were also unbeaten in the MAC Freedom conference with a record of 3-0. With a promising season thus far, in addition to being on a three-game win streak, they were looking to continue their winning ways in an away conference game against DeSales.
The first quarter was a thriller despite featuring no goals. The quarter featured seven total penalty corners and nine total shots. The goaltenders of both teams were kept very busy throughout this quarter. Stevens’ goalie, senior Lily Wierzbicki, made five saves in this period alone. Junior Aleah Dinmore, freshman Brooke Hughes, and junior Sophia Cozza all had shots stopped by the DeSales goalie.
In response to the attack-heavy first quarter, both teams focused on defense. Both defenses turned up the pressure. The first quarter was frightening for the defense, and the second quarter was terrifying for the attack. The quarter only had one shot on goal for each team, neither of them on target. At the halfway point of regulation time, both teams were in a goalless deadlock.
The second half was more eventful than the first, maybe more terrifying depending on who you ask. Four minutes into the third quarter, Stevens was awarded a penalty corner after a blocked shot. After being hit for the corner, the ball moved like it was possessed, swinging from left to right until falling in front of junior Taylor Brooks. From just inside the circle, Brooks fired her shot through a horde of Bulldogs and Ducks in front of the cage, giving the Ducks the lead. Stevens had a chance to double the lead just over a minute later with a penalty stroke, but unfortunately, it was stopped by an impressive save.
It looked like the Ducks may have gotten to walk out of this nightmare without a scratch. However, in the second minute of the fourth quarter, they were dragged back in as the Bulldogs scored to equalize the score. This lit a fire under the Ducks as they took a few more shots, but this was not enough to free them from this penitentiary of a field. This nightmare had an overtime.
In the first half of overtime, Stevens took eight shots in 10 minutes – a very impressive stat that shows their dominance. They may have been cursed because the ball just refused to go into the goal. But three minutes into the second overtime, we meet the hero of this thriller. In a link-up between two juniors, Lauren Flynn passed the ball to the savior, Molly DiCampli. DiCampli knew what she had to do. She fired a rocket and scored a decisive goal, instantly freeing everyone from purgatory. Stevens won the game 2-1, extending their win streak to 4.
