ROCHESTER, NY – Katie Meuse (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) made a beautiful move on a defender in the waning minutes of the game, cutting in a few feet outside the circle and eventually crossing one to Sydney Gagnon (Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central) for the finish with 2:06 remaining in Saturday afternoon's game at Nazareth, giving the Hartwick field hockey team a comeback 2-1 victory. The win lifts the Hawks to 9-5 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8, giving them a firm grasp on a playoff spot with three games to go. Nazareth drops to 6-9 overall and 2-3 in conference.
The Golden Flyers struck first early on in the game, scoring 5:01 in. Lydia Dewart got the goal, putting it in off the rebound of Bailey Selman's shot. Hartwick had the better of play for the rest of the first quarter, earning three penalty corners and taking three shots for the duration, but could not tie the game. A Gagnon shot was headed across the line in the 13th minute, but Golden Flyer Abbey Szumloz kept it out for the defensive save. The second quarter was relatively uneventful, with the only action coming on two corners and three shots for 'Wick. Leah Tolley (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) had two of those shots in quick succession in the 30th minute, forcing a save from Nazareth keeper Amanda Chuttey first and sending one wide shortly thereafter.
It was a tale of two periods in one during the third quarter. The hosts dominated the first portion, earning three corners and shooting five times in the first 8-plus minutes. The last of those shots, by Caroline Desautels, was only kept out by a defensive save from Tegan Robinson (Mechanicville, NY/Shenendehowa) at 38:02. Hartwick turned the tide after that. They earned a penalty corner in the 41st minute and subsequently took five shots in 28 seconds. Gagnon again was robbed on a defensive save at 41:09, this time by Mikaylee Whalen. 'Wick finally tied the game at 41:29, on a Meuse rebound goal after shots by Gagnon and Abby White (Binghamton, NY/Windsor Central), in that order. The two teams remained tied heading into the fourth.
Although Hartwick had a corner and a shot early on in the final period and Nazareth took the next three attempts, sandwiching a pair of penalty corners, it looked like the Hawks would be headed to overtime for the second consecutive game. Tolley, Meuse, and Gagnon made sure that was not the case. Tolley stole the ball from a Golden Flyer near midfield and passed it up to Meuse, who corralled the ball and cut inside a defender and towards the cage a couple yards outside the shooting circle. At the last second, she crossed one towards the left side of the net, right in Gagnon's wheelhouse for the freshman's team-high tenth goal of the season at 57:54. Nazareth tried their hardest to tie it in the final couple of minutes, earning three corners and taking three shots, but the Hawks and goalkeeper Allyson Osborne (Nottingham, PA/Solanco) were up to the task, as the latter saved all three shots to preserve the win.
Gagnon and Robinson tied for the game high of four shots; all of Gagnon's went on target, while three of Robinson's did, supplementing her defensive save in the third quarter. Tolley was right behind with three shots, while Meuse had two shots and was involved in both goals. Osborne played all sixty minutes in net, making eight saves on nine chances for the win.
Desautels and Selman tied for their team's lead in shots at three. Four Golden Flyers had two shots: Dewart, Whalen, Jennifer Hilts, and Natalie L'Hommedieu. Chuttey made eight saves on ten tries, and was helped out by two defensive saves from her teammates.
The two teams tied at 14 shots apiece, although Hartwick had a slim 12-10 advantage in shots on goal. Nazareth had the advantage in penalty corners, though, with eight to 'Wick's seven.
With only conference games remaining on their schedule, the Hawks return to play this upcoming Wednesday, October 23. They travel to Albany to take on Sage at 7 p.m.
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