For immediate release - #075
Hornet Field Hockey Rallies for 4-3 OT Win over Bridgewater

LYNCHBURG, VA – A Friday night Old Dominion Athletic Conference field hockey thriller between Lynchburg College and Bridgewater College ended up going into overtime and resulting in a 4-3 victory for the Hornets at Shellenberger Field.

Rain fell in the early minutes of competition and both teams fought valiantly from start to finish. Bridgewater and Lynchburg each had a comeback in the game as they both hoped to remain undefeated in conference play.

The first goal of the game came off the stick of Elaine Ritschard with an assist from Kayla Krause at the 27:52 mark.  Krause got her second assist of the night when she found Kelsey Link 10 minutes into the second half to give the Hornets a two-goal lead. 

That advantage was short-lived as the Eagles scored three goals in the span of seven minutes to take control. Their first goal came from the ODAC shots leader, Taylor Prillaman, off a rebound less than a minute after the Hornets' second goal.  The Eagles then scored off a corner insert from Rachael Loy to Caroline Augsburger.  A strike from the top by Caroline Fletcher with an assist from Augsburger gave Bridgewater a 3-2 lead with only 17 minutes remaining in the second half. 

Coach Steele responded by calling a time-out. The Hornets responded as Courtney Gillette scored with four minutes left to even the game at three goals apiece.

Neither team was able to break the tie in regulation, resulting in overtime. A few outstanding saves from keeper Beka Hess kept the Hornets alive throughout the period. 

With only a few minutes remaining in the overtime period, LC was awarded a penalty stroke after a foul by the Eagles in front of the cage.  Gillette lined up and found the right side of the net to win the game for the Hornets.

Hess finished with nine saves, while Bridgewater keeper Amanda Harper had 10.  Katherine Ellis and Kaitlyn Harris each had two defensive saves for the Eagles.  Gillette had one for the Hornets.

The shot total seemed to follow the flow of the game with Lynchburg outshooting the visitors 12-5 in the first half.  Bridgewater (6-6, 2-1) led in the second half 16-4, and Lynchburg led the total again in overtime 9-4 resulting in 25 shots by each team.

The Hornets (6-6, 3-0) play their next game on Sunday in a non-conference matchup against Washington and Jefferson College in Winchester, VA on the campus of Shenandoah University at 2 p.m.