The American University Field Hockey team (6-5, 2-0) defeated the Colgate University Raiders (2-7, 0-2) in Patriot League play, with a final score of 3-2 in grand buzzer-beating fashion on Oct.5.
Entering the match, there was a change to the typical lineup. Head coach Steve Jennings started junior goalkeeper Pauline Gineste instead of their typical starter graduate student Bryn Underwood, who was awarded Patriot League goalkeeper of the week on Sept. 30 for recording two shutout wins. Before the game, Gineste only played three minutes for the Eagles, but performed well in her first career start. Though she allowed 2 goals, she also made 2 saves to secure the win. Jennings attributed her start to Gineste’s hard work.
“I think it's important that when people are working really hard and people are contributing to the success of the team, they get a chance to shine too. So it was an opportunity for us in an important situation, and an important league game for Pauline to come in and show off her hard work and be ready to roll,” Jennings said.
All throughout the first quarter, the Eagles maintained strong possession, shutting down Colgate’s offense. Though the Eagles controlled the pace all throughout the first, they couldn’t get much offense going until the end when senior Tayla-Jade Weiss got a shot off that was blocked by the Colgate goalkeeper to close out the quarter at 0-0.
Entering the second quarter, Colgate’s defense couldn’t keep up. Senior Kaleigh Missimer got deep into the shooting circle and shot the ball right past Colgate’s keeper for her first goal of the season.
Colgate wouldn’t go into halftime without putting up a strong fight, though. With just under five minutes remaining before the half, a Colgate forward drove down the baseline and got a shot off over Gineste’s head for the equalizing goal.
With 8:49 left in the third quarter, Colgate crossed the ball in the inside for sophomore forward Dani Palmer to score making the score 2-1, Colgate’s first and only lead of the game.
The Eagles couldn’t get anything going for the rest of the third quarter. However, early on in the fourth quarter, Colgate’s goalkeeper was given a penalty for making contact with sophomore forward Jordan Reicher, and the Eagles were awarded a penalty shot. With 13:11 left in the quarter, Missimer was due up to take the penalty and she shot the ball and placed it in the top left corner of the goal for her second goal of the day coming off the bench.
Coming into the game, Missimer was locked in, especially due to some of the injuries she had faced prior to the match.
“This is one of the first games I've been back since being injured, and I just make sure not to take any game for granted. I get a three-minute shift, and I work as hard as I can. I just want to come in with my experience of being here for four years, but also knowing that, like, the people around me can help support me, and we can get some good goals like this,” she said.
After Missimer’s equalizing goal, the clock was quickly winding down in the fourth, looking almost inevitable that the game was going to go into overtime. But senior Federica Turina Dellamaggiore wasn’t going to allow that to happen. With under 10 seconds remaining, the Eagles got the ball into the zone. Turina Dellamaggiore found space to get a backhanded shot off that ricocheted off Colgate’s keeper to secure a magical buzzer-beating goal that won the Eagles the game. Right after the goal, her teammates rushed to the field to celebrate with her, as the Eagles remain the only undefeated team left in the Patriot League.
“I heard my coach screaming outside, ‘Go go go.’ And I was like, I know there are a few seconds left. I just got to go. It was crazy. The only thing I remember is the ball on the ground. And after I saw it on the net, and that's it, I was super, super happy,” Turina Dellamaggiore said postgame.
Jennings is hoping that through the next week of practice, the Eagles will work on their skills and be ready for their next Patriot League matchup as they make their playoff push.
“I think in some ways we lost momentum today. But I think we gained and learned a really important lesson, which is you have to take every opponent seriously, and you have to make sure you're ready to play at your absolute best. Our B game isn't going to be good enough to be able to get wins. We have to really be an A-plus team. And so I think the good news is that we learned a lesson out of a win today, but we have to come out and be stronger right from the jump and be more connected,” Jennings said.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Emma Brown, Nicole Kariuki and Sabine Kanter-Huchting.
