How It HappenedA defensive battle led by
Shelby Morris' 10 saves ended in double overtime when York's Allison Kolacy scored with one second remaining as #13 York escaped an upset by Lebanon Valley, 5-4, in the season opener.
The Dutchmen rallied back from 4-2 down in the second half with two goals by
Anna Pagels, and held York scoreless for the final 22:39 of regulation and 6:59 of overtime. LVC led 2-0 early in the game on markers by
Tori Kuntz and freshman
Emma Jones, but York took advantage of tough midfield play to score the next four goals before Pagels hit with 21:15 left in regulation.
Pagels scored again with 6:33 to go to knot it at 4-4 and had a potential game-winning free position shot saved in the final seconds of the half. Both teams had quality chances in overtime, but Kolacy scored after Lily Damalouji caused a turnover at midfield and created an odd-man break to score.
Notables- Morris was huge in the latter stages of the game for LVC, making a key save and ground ball with 1:54 to go in regulation, then stopping free position shots at the horn in each side of the first overtime.Â
- LVC had goals called back in each half; in the first,
Sam Boyce's apparently tally was waved off on a dangerous propel flag, and Kuntz's would-be second goal early in the second half was negated by an illegal stick.
- York goalie Charlotte Wright was also outstanding, making 10 saves, including a free position stop in the final 10 seconds of regulation and another in overtime.
-
Bailey Benz had four caused turnovers, and
Laura Schmidt and
Brooke Stoltzfus each grabbed five ground balls.
- The midfield transition game proved key in the first half as LVC had an 8-of-13 clearance rate to trail 3-2 at the break. The Dutchmen adjusted and were 11-of-13 the rest of the game.
- York outshot LVC 26-16 and led 8-6 on draw controls. LVC was 2-of-7 on free position shots; York 1-of-5.
- It was the second straight overtime meeting between LVC and York. The Dutchmen pushed the then-11th ranked Spartans to OT in an 11-10 loss at Arnold Field to open the 2014 season.
- Freshman
Emma Jones earned her first career start and scored a goal; sophomore
Brooke Stoltzfus, a transfer from Lock Haven, made her first start on defense for the Dutchmen. Freshmen
Kirsten Bannan and
Brenna O'Neill also made their first career appearances.Â
Stat of the Game26 - degrees by the end of overtime as an occasional flurry fell during the game.
Next UpLVC will travel to Shenandoah on Saturday for a 4 p.m. start. The Dutchmen open at home Wednesday, Feb. 25 against Dickinson at 4:30 p.m.