You would think that avoiding sudden death is a good thing.
However, if you survive 30 minutes of do-or-die overtime only to give a game away in penalty strokes, it can really spell doom for your spirits.
Such was the case yesterday for the Massachusetts field hockey team, which fell to the Providence Friars 1-0 (4-2 in strokes) at home on Richard F. Garber Field.
The loss dropped the Maroon and White to 3-7 (0-0 Atlantic 10) and sucked any momentum out of a team that will begin conference play this upcoming weekend. In contrast, the Friars improved to 8-4 (1-3 Big East) and regained their winning form after a brief two-game losing streak.
“We didn’t play well until the OT, and you can’t wait that long,” UMass coach Patty Shea said. “You can’t live on a wing and a prayer. They took it to us in the second half…even though we had opportunities, we just didn’t take advantage of them.”
In the first half, neither squad could solve the other’s defense, and not many scoring chances were generated on either end. Even when a rare opportunity presented itself to put the ball in the net, goalies Ashley Egland (UMass) and Meaghan Moran (Providence) were there to snuff the opposing team.
On the day, Moran blocked a total of 11 shots and Egland stopped six, all while not allowing a single ball to pierce the back of the cage until the strokes period, 100 minutes after the start of the game.
After struggling in the beginning of the year, this was especially rewarding for Egland, who has put together a few solid games in a row.
“I finally have my confidence back,” the sophomore netkeeper said. “Which is something I didn’t really have from the end of high school until the BU game [a 2-1 Massachusetts win a week ago]. I felt my team trusted me out there although it’s tough to work so hard and lose.”
In the second frame, the Friars put the pressure on the Minutewomen defense early, constantly advancing the ball into the Maroon and White’s circle. Providence even drew five penalty corners, although it didn’t convert on any of them, after failing to garner a single penalty corner in the first half.
UMass also had its chances, however, the most prominent of which came with just over seven minuets left when Stacey Blue one-timed a nice centering pass from Lindsay Abbott toward the net, only to see it knocked away at the last second by a sprawled-out Moran.
“We weren’t strong in the circle physically, and we didn’t make good decisions in the goal area,” Shea said.
Throughout both overtimes, the two teams once again had their chances, although neither squad was able to capitalize. This led to a strokes period in which the Friars were able to outgun the Minutewomen 4-2.
For Providence, Jennifer Chin, Courtney Dow, Stefanie Suehnholz and Katie Willett (who scored the game-winner) all were able to get the ball by Egland, while Anke Bruemmer and Ashley Gilbert notched the goals for UMass.
The fact that NCAA rules call for a third overtime of strokes, and not of regular play, was unsettling to many of the Maroon and White players, who competed hard for 100 minutes only to watch from the sidelines as the game slipped away.
“I’m not a big fan of strokes,” UMass forward Stacey Blue said. “I would rather just keep on playing.”
For the Friars, though, it was a nice, if somewhat lucky, victory.
“We were very, very fortunate to get the win,” Providence coach Bill Davidson said. “We don’t sustain pressure like them, so we have to pick away. It is a different style of play.”
