By Alexandra Parado
Sports Editor
This past week, the field hockey team participated in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament as the third-seeded team in the league. The Lions first faced Montclair State University in the semifinals and moved on to the final round against Rowan University.
On Oct. 31, the Lions succeeded against Montclair State in a close game of 2-1.
Scoring late into the first half, junior forward Tori Hannah slashed a pass from junior forward/midfielder Kayla Peterson into the net. Hannah gave the Lions the lead they needed with just 4:08 minutes left in the first half. This marked Hannah’s 11th goal of the season.
The Lions lead at halftime 1-0. It wasn’t until the game was midway through the second half that Montclair State broke the lead.
With under 20 minutes left in the game, Montclair State’s senior forward/midfielder Kailey Dalgauer took advantage of a penalty corner and fired the ball into the left side of the net.
The 1-1 tie lead to three overtime rounds. Both teams fought to advance in the tournament.
In the first overtime, Montclair State outshot the Lions 7-1, but Beaumont protected the net and made three saves to stop them from scoring.
With no progress made from either team, the game continued to a second overtime. Sophomore midfielder Samantha Reed took a shot off a corner, but Montclair State defender Marissa Siconolfi blocked the ball from reaching the net, which lead the game to a shootout.
In a best-of-five shooting competition, Reed and junior forward Cayla Andrews allowed the team to lead 2-0 in the shootout. After Montclair State evened out the score, each team was allowed five more attempts before the deciding final round.
This period had several chances for both teams to break the tie, but it was a challenge for all to score a goal. In the final round of the shootout, Andrews was able to score off her own rebound to give the Lions the lead they needed. On the defensive end, Beaumont needed to protect the net while Montclair State made an effort to break the Lions’ lead. Beaumont’s pair of saves concluded the long fight toward earning the NJAC Championship title.
The Lions advanced to their sixth NJAC Championship final round in a row, but did not leave as NJAC champions.
The team traveled to Glassboro, New Jersey for a 1 p.m. battle for the NJAC title on Saturday, Nov. 3, where they were dominated 2-0 by undefeated Rowan University in the final round in the NJAC tournament.
Early in the game, Rowan’s sophomore midfielder Molly Gorczyca gave her team a lead that the Lions could not meet — the team could not come close to scoring.
Rowan extended the lead to 2-0 halfway through the second half, and the Lions could not respond. Reed attempted to score, but her shot was saved by Rowan’s goalkeeper.
Though the Lions were outshot 15-11, the team had seven shots on goal that Rowan was able to block. The goalie for the Lions, Beaumont, made four saves for the team.
The field hockey team ends its season with an overall record of 14-4 and will move on to compete in the national tournament.
In the first round of the NCAA Division III field hockey tournament, the Lions face Keystone College on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The winner of the challenge will move on to the second round to play against Vassar College on Saturday, Nov. 10.
