Head Coach Brittney Randolph has earned her first career win as a Head Coach as she led the Mercyhurst University Field Hockey Team to victory on Tuesday afternoon. The Lakers defeated Seton Hill in dramatic fashion in double overtime by a score of 4-3.
The teams began the match in a defensive battle. Both teams were held scoreless, however the Lakers did manage to fire a shot on goal. Later on in the second quarter, Mercyhurst struck first courtesy of junior Katie Goodenow. Goodenow scored on a rebound shot to give the Lakers the 1-0 lead four minutes into the second quarter, Mercyhurst would strike again soon.
However, Seton Hill responded quickly as they scored their own goal just a minute later to tie the game up. In just 1:31 of game time following the Griffins goal, Mercyhurst scored again as
Lexi Odrobina collected a rebound shot of her own that she turned over into the net. Her goal gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead which they would keep going into the halftime break.
The teams played the third quarter similar to the first. Neither team was able to find the back of the net however Mercyhurst did have two shots on goal, while Seton Hill had three of their own.
In the fourth quarter, scoring came in bunches. Seton Hill struck first as they had back to back goals just 46 seconds apart to open up the quarter. Mercyhurst battled through and tied the game up with 2:33 remaining.
Kayla Gill tipped in a pass from
Evelien Hulshof at the front of the net for her first goal of the season. This put the score at 3-3 as the teams went into overtime.
The score remained tied after the first period of overtime.
Kayla Desormeau made one save in the period to keep the Griffins off the scoreboard. As time went on in the second overtime period, the teams remained scoreless until there were 14 seconds left on the clock. That is when
Jenna Cavalieri shot from the left side of the goal and into the back of the net for the overtime game-winner.
Coach Randolph had this to say after the win, "What an amazing feeling to get win number one for the season! I am so proud of our team's determination and relentless effort for every minute of play through regulation and 2 overtime periods. They deserve this win for all of the hard work they have put in and I am honored to continue to lead them to more victories down the road. Lots of credit to Seton Hill for a hard fought battle. They did not make today easy for us. We will enjoy this win and use today to continue to grow for our next set of opponents! Today is truly a great day to be a Laker!"
Mercyhurst will look to take this momentum into their next match on Friday against Millersville University. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.
