The Elizabethtown College field hockey team took the field for a highly contested Landmark Conference matchup against the Catholic University Cardinals this past week.
Between the two sides, Catholic has had the historical advantage, making the playoffs all but one year since their inception into the Landmark Conference. However, the Blue Jays held the more recent success, scoring their first playoff win last season since 2016, while the Cardinals missed out on the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.
As the Blue Jays passed the ball back from the center half, the game began. Both sides seemed to be locked in a stalemate early, butCatholic held possession for the majority of the quarter.
Despite the continuous efforts by both sides, the score remained at 0-0 after the first 15 minutes of play. Etown had a major chance to take an early lead in the first. Later, the penalty stroke was saved by the Catholic goalkeeper, giving the Cardinals the momentum.
The Cardinals got on the board first after their first corner of the game ended up in the back of the net after being batted around inside the D, the attacking area where the attacking team can shoot on goal.
Defensively, Etown tried to hold their own throughout the quarter, but with the continuous efforts by the Cardinals, the Blue Jays had given up multiple penalty corners in the first seven minutes of the quarter.
It almost seemed as the momentum shifted after Etown cleared the third Catholic corner in a row, with the Blue Jays finding multiple chances to attack as the first half was coming to a close. Despite a couple of breakaway opportunities, Catholic held their own through the quarter as they led at the half 1-0.
Catholic brought the heat coming out of the halftime break, with senior goalkeeper Lily DeBlasio making a couple of key saves to keep the deficit at one. Etown was finally able to break through against the Cardinals, with senior midfielder Hannah Long rocketing a shot into the back of the net from a pass by sophomore midfielder Abbie Heckman. Junior Hailey Meyer did a good job after the initial pass from the corner, shielding the view of the Catholic goalkeeper just enough to allow the shot to find its way into the goal.
Etown continued their momentum into the fourth quarter, with sophomore forward Sara Watson finding multiple opportunities of her own. Her first chance came from a breakaway on goal, but it came off of her stick slightly wrong and ended up forcing the shot wide, squandering the potential game-changing goal.
Meyer continued pushing forward for the Blue Jays, finding a breakaway opportunity of her own and slotting the shot past the goalkeeper to give Etown a late 2-1 lead with only three minutes to go. The celebrations were short-lived as Catholic responded with a game-tying goal with only one minute remaining in regular time.
The game went to two overtimes, with both teams deadlocked in a stalemate as they tried to break the game open and give themselves a key victory. Despite multiple chances, neither team could break through, sending the game into a shootout for the second time at home this season for the Blue Jays.
The first attempt by Catholic was scored, however back-to-back obstruction calls negated the next two chances by the Cardinals. Meyer tied the shootout score at one as it turned into sudden death after the first five shooters went through in order.
Etown chose Meyer to take her second shot of the shootout to potentially shut the door on the Cardinals for good. After dangling the ball to try to find an opening, she buried the shot in the goal, sending Catholic home unhappy and giving Etown a dramatic 3-2 victory at home.
Meyer led the team with a goal in regular play and the two key shootout goals, followed by Long with a goal of her own. DeBlasio helped keep Etown afloat despite the pressure, as she is credited with making eight saves in the win. Her efforts in the afternoon helped earn her the second Landmark Conference Defensive Player of the Week award of the season.
The Blue Jays move to 8-6 on the season and continue their pursuit to a Landmark Conference playoff berth for the second season in a row. The Blue Jays will play their final regular season contest at home on Oct. 27 and barring upcoming results, will face off in the first round of Landmark Conference tournament play on Oct. 31.
