BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College field hockey team rallied back from a 1-0 deficit with two unanswered goals, including the game-winner in sudden death overtime, to top Susquehanna University 2-1 on Saturday afternoon on Rocco Calvo Field.
Sophomore forward Kelly O'Donnell followed up her own rebound two minutes into overtime for her second goal of the season and the walk-off win for the Blue and Grey.
"There was a girl behind the goalie at first and she hit the ball back out," O'Donnell said of the clinching play. "I got the rebound and it just went right in. It's a pretty amazing feeling. They beat us last year so we definitely came out wanting to beat them. It was a little bit of revenge."
The Greyhounds (7-3) won their fourth straight contest, their first four-game streak since 2004, and first in the Landmark Conference on the league's opening day of play. The Crusaders fell to 6-4 on the season and 0-1 in Landmark. Susquehanna beat Moravian on the last day of the regular season last year to effectively knock the Greyhounds out of playoff contention.
"We came out on fire and really wanted a win today," Head Coach Amy Endler said.
"I think we learned something from our last overtime game," said Endler, referring to a 2-1 loss to William Paterson University on Sept. 14 on Rocco Calvo. "We controlled the ball off the whistle and we kept the ball on our sticks instead of playing it long."
Overtime was necessary thanks to a first-half equalizing goal from senior midfielder Chelsea Grotyohann, who converted a penalty stroke at the very end of the first half to tie the game at 1-1. Susquehanna had scored only one minute earlier on a scrum in front of the Moravian cage.
The Greyhounds were granted a penalty corner with 15 seconds left in the first half, and Grotyohann wisely let the clock run to zero, when the squad would be allowed the take the final possession before the break. The ensuing play caused a penalty in front of the Crusader cage, and the senior captain stepped up to the spot and slammed home a shot to the left of the Susquehanna keeper for her fifth goal of the season.
"I'm happy we practiced strokes in practice yesterday," Endler said. "It's a pressure-packed situation. I'm very happy for Chelsea and how well she did in that spot. She's a senior captain, and she showed it while taking that stroke."
The two sides played a scoreless second half, which very nearly ended in a Susquehanna victory if it weren't for the quick stick of junior defender Emily Marley. She snuck in behind senior goalkeeper Andrea Eck during a Susquehanna offensive sequence, and was in the right place to make a clutch defensive save to prevent the Crusaders from taking the lead.
"That was key," Endler said. "If that doesn't happen, we lose that game in regulation. Emily came out of nowhere and hit it out. She was so excited after the save. She said, 'I always wanted to get one of those!' It was great eye-hand coordination to get that save and it really helped us win today."
Eck made a few clutch plays of her own in the 2-1 overtime win, recording seven saves while playing all 72-plus minutes in front of the Greyhound cage.
O'Donnell scored her first game-winning goal of the season, and credited her teammate, Grotyohann, for giving her the chance to come through for her team.
"After Chelsea made that stroke, it gave us motivation going into the second half," O'Donnell said. "It was like 0-0 again and a brand new game. We felt going into the second half that we could definitely pull it off."
The Greyhounds will next try to pull off a five-game winning streak when they face Neumann University on the road in non-conference action on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
