St. David's, PA (10/8/07) – Junior forward Kim Campbell (Havertown, PA / Great Valley) scored with 6:23 remaining in the second overtime as Eastern University tripped up No. 10 Montclair State, 2-1 in NCAA Division III field hockey action on Monday afternoon.
The loss was Montclair State's second straight and third in the last four games as the Red Hawks dropped to 9-3 on the year. Eastern is now 10-5 overall as they defeated MSU for the first time in six meetings. Freshman forward Lisa Gocht ( Bedford, PA / Bedford) gave the Eagles a first half lead with a goal on a pass from Campbell in the sixteenth minute Eastern led, 1-0 at the break.
In the second half, the Red Hawks would tie the game two minutes into the period as
MEGAN PIETRUNTI ( Middletown, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) collected her team-leading eighth goal of the year. From there, the Eagles had the better opportunities as they fired ten shots to the Red Hawks three in the second frame and had a 6-4 advantage in penalty corners. MSU goalkeeper
JACQUIE SUPKO ( Moorestown, NJ / Moorestown) kept the Red Hawks in the game with eight saves in the final 35 minutes of regulation.
The Eagles best chance of the second half came with just over two minutes to play on a stroke, but Supko made a save to keep the game tied and sent the contest into overtime. Last year, the two teams battled through the entire thirty minutes of overtime before the Red Hawks won on strokes.
This year, the Eagles jumped out in the overtime period and quickly established possession in their attacking end. Eastern earned four penalty corners in the first overtime, but Supko and her defense were up to the challenge and turned away each Eastern chance. Montclair appeared to have the game winner on a breakout, but a stick violation on the shot caused the goal to be disallowed.
The two teams moved to the second overtime. Playing six aside in the field the Eagles were able to take possession on their right flank in the 94th minute of the match. Senior Carrie Kline ( Harrisburg, PA / Harrisburg Christian) drove the ball hard toward the circle to a waiting Lindsay Moyer ( Telford, PA, Christopher Dock). Moyer earned the endline and slotted a beautiful pass across the face of the cage to a waiting Campbell. The junior transfer took full advantage of her chance and slammed home her eighth goal of the year for the game-winner.
Supko made a season-high 13 saves for MSU while Kelly Garland ( Lanhartsville, PA/Kutztown) had three stops for Eastern, which outshot Montclair State, 22-10 in the contest.
The Red Hawks return to action on Saturday, October 13 as they travel to Glassboro, NJ to face Rowan University in an NJAC matchup at 6:00 pm.
