Kroener Lifts Field Hockey to a 3-2 Overtime Win at Rutgers

Sunday, September 2

Piscataway, N.J.

1:00 PM

Temple University

(1-2)

Rutgers

(2-2)

OT 2

Temple

Rutgers

Nicole Kroener scored the overtime game-winner for Temple in a 3-2 victory at Rutgers

Kroener Lifts Field Hockey to a 3-2 Overtime Win at Rutgers

9.2.12 | Field Hockey

Box Score

Owls come from behind in their first win of the season

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Nicole Kroener's goal just two minutes into overtime gave Temple field hockey a 3-2 win at Rutgers (2-2) on Sunday afternoon. It was the first win of the year for the Owls (1-2) who had previously lost two one-goal games to ranked teams, including one in overtime.

The Scarlet Knights' Christie Lonsky scored the only goal of the first half, but the Owls remained aggressive on offense and it paid off early in the second half.

"Being down 1-0 at halftime was kind of tough for us," said head coach Amanda Janney. "It was awesome to see us score so early in the second half after struggling. It was a scrappy, physical game. Some of the goals weren't the prettiest. I was happy for Lauren she was able to push one through early in the second half, and for Nicole to end up scoring two goals was awesome. She runs all game long in the midfield and works so hard, but doesn't always get the scoring opportunities. So I'm really happy she got rewarded for her hard work and effort."

Lauren Hunt scored less than two minutes into the second period to tie the game at 1-1, and it remained tied until Rutgers was awarded a penalty stroke with 22 minutes remaining.

Carlie Rouh scored on the stroke for a 2-1 Rutgers lead, but with 15 minutes to go the Owls capitalized on a penalty corner. The goal came from Kroener, who would finish with two in the contest.

In the final minutes of regulation, the Owls' defense came up big to preserve the tie. Lizzy Millen, who made six total saves for the Owls, made one of those with less than a minute remaining.

Amber Youtz assisted on Kroener's overtime goal, passing through the middle of the circle where Kroener sprinted to get in position and score for the win.

"Rutgers had won two good games" said Janney. "They were playing with confidence and they kept us on our heels. We have a young team that needs to learn how to expect to win, so this was great for us. Especially winning in overtime is huge for us because that's been a problem in the past. Now our team knows that we can hang with teams like Virginia in overtime, and also win like we did today."

Temple will play its next game on the road as well, traveling to Monmouth on Wed., Sept. 5 for a 4:30 p.m. contest.