HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The Hartwick College women's soccer team saw its season come to an end Saturday afternoon, falling to Houghton College, 2-1, in overtime in the first round of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament at Burke Field. The third-seeded Highlanders used a late equalizer to push the game to overtime, before scoring the golden goal to defeat the sixth-seeded Hawks.
Junior
Lily Dempsey (Glenville, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) scored the Hawks' lone goal, assisted by freshman
Elizabeth Burke (Latham, N.Y./Shaker). Burke led the way with three shots on goal, while Dempsey put on two shots on goal off the bench. Freshman goalkeeper
Kelsey Bollen (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) finished with three saves for Hartwick, while the Hawks finished with a 10-6 advantage in shots and put seven attempts on target.
Hartwick opened the scoring in the 37th minute as Burke helped create the opportunity, finding junior Dempsey unmarked in the box, who finished to the back of the net at 36:50 to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Hartwick maintained its advantage through the remainder of the first half, outshooting the Highlanders 5-1 over the opening 45 minutes.
The Hawks continued to generate opportunities in the second half, with Burke putting multiple shots on target. Houghton goalkeeper Olivia Short turned away several Hartwick attempts to keep the Highlanders within striking distance. Houghton eventually found the equalizer in the 83rd minute, as Leah Jackson converted a pass from Elena Esh at 82:37 to even the score at 1-1.
With neither team able to find another goal in regulation, the contest headed to overtime. Houghton needed just 3:55 into the extra period to end the match, as Hope Russell found the back of the net off an assist from Sophia Templeton at 93:55 to give the Highlanders a 2-1 victory.
The overtime defeat brings Hartwick's season to a close, as they finish the season with a 5-8-4 record.
