Field Hockey Wins Thriller to Advance to BIG EAST Championship

Friday, November 6

Norfolk, Va.

4:30 p.m.

Temple University

(8-12)

Villanova (BIG EAST Semifinals)

(5-12)

OT 2

Villanova

Temple

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Field Hockey Wins Thriller to Advance to BIG EAST Championship

11.6.15 | Field Hockey

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. - In thrilling fashion, Temple field hockey advanced to the 2015 BIG EAST Championship game for a second straight year with a 2-1 overtime win against Villanova in the semifinals. Senior Alyssa Delp tied the game with a minute and a half left in regulation, and senior Tricia Light put the game-winner in the back of the net with less than two minutes to go in the first overtime period.

The game was a bit of deja vu for the Owls, who earned their spot in the tournament by virtue of an overtime win at Villanova just six days ago. Temple has improved to 8-12 for the season, while Villanova's season concludes at 5-12.

Despite out-shooting the Wildcats 21-6 overall, Temple was scoreless until the final two minutes of regulation. Villanova goalkeeper Erika Miller made 12 saves in all, including eight in the second half, but the Owls' persistence paid off.

Temple head coach Marybeth Freeman gave all the credit to her players for their tenacity throughout the game.

"When you have a group of women who continue to fight, when they have a belief that they can win and with a minute and 30 seconds left actually show it, and then in overtime they win it, I couldn't be prouder of the amount of pride they displayed in getting that result tonight."

Sophomore Maiyah Brown assisted on the equalizer by Delp, sending a perfect pass in from the far right. Delp had a shot late in the overtime period that rebounded off Miller and was collected by Light who found the back of the net for the win.

"When you've been attacking for that long, to finally put one away feels so great," said Light. "To get that goal with a minute and a half left, there's nothing better than that when you know you need to score to keep your season going. We've faced a lot of adversity this season and we've learned how to push through that. You can't give up."

The first 10 minutes saw no chances offensively for either team, but the Owls then fought off back-to-back corners for Villanova.

In the 18th minute, the Wildcats' Heather Smillie put the ball into the bottom left off an Allison Sayia assist to give Villanova a 1-0 lead.

The Owls' aggressive play picked up after the goal by Villlanova, but their three shots on goal down the stretch were not able to yield the equalizer. Delp had a strong shot from the right side saved by the Wildcats' Erika Miller with 12:30 remaining, and a subsequent shot by sophomore Rachael Mueller was blocked.

With five minutes to go in the half, the Owls earned a corner and had an apparent goal scored by senior Sarah Deck that was waived off by the officials.

In the final minutes of the first half, redshirt freshman Maris Stern dove on the ball on the near post and missed scoring by just inches.

Deck and Delp combined for three strong shots around eight minutes into the second half, all of them one-on-one against Miller, but she came up with three more impressive saves to keep the Owls off the scoreboard.

That scenario would repeat down the stretch, with multiple solid chances for Temple. Sophomore Hattie Kuhns, redshirt sophomore Sarah Keer, Brown and Deck all had shots saved by Miller, who made eight of her 10 saves in the second half.

The Owls' urgency never let up, and they were rewarded with Delp's goal in the 69th minute. Brown sent the ball in from the far right to Delp who scored the tying goal.

Three and half minutes into overtime, a diving Light just barely missed sending a pass from Brown into the cage. Two minutes later, Light was in the right spot yet again, and this time sent in a rebounded shot to win the game.

Next up for the Owls is a rematch of last year's BIG EAST Championship game. They will face two-time defending NCAA champ UConn for the league title at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8.