Staten Island, NY – The Hofstra field hockey team saw a 2-0 lead turn into a 4-2 deficit before scoring twice in the fourth quarter to even the score at 4-4, and
Malena Bertone sealed the win with an overtime goal as the Pride battled back to a 5-4 victory over the Seahawks from Wagner Field Hockey Complex.
The Pride jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first quarter off an unassisted goal by Bertone with 3:14 left in the first quarter off a loose ball inside the Wagner shooting arc, and
Sarah Smalley doubled the Pride's lead with a furious backhander after receiving the cross from
Cara Zapach with 7:05 left in the second quarter. Wagner answered back shortly after Smalley's goal off a penalty corner to bring the Seahawks to within one at halftime.
Wagner's Floortje Leunisse evened the game two minutes into the third quarter with an unassisted goal, and she completed her hat-trick five minutes later on another Wagner penalty corner to give the hosts the lead, while Victoria Gonzalez-Lopez tallied the fourth Seahawk goal of the day three minutes into the fourth quarter to give the hosts a two-goal lead. Less than 30 seconds later, however,
Juana Laskowski jumped on a saved shot from Smalley and finished underneath the Wagner goalkeeper to bring the Pride to within one, and Smalley found the back of the goal for her second tally of the afternoon with a bouncing backhander at the 6:32 mark to tie the game once again.
Hofstra carried its momentum into the first overtime period and generated an early shot off a penalty corner 38 seconds into the action, and the Pride earned another opportunity seconds later that Bertone buried stick-side for the winner.
Kesia Richardson finished with two assists in the win, while
Camryn Stewart and
Cara Zapach had one helper apiece. In goal,
Luci Hollister recorded seven saves in the win. For Wagner, Gonzalez-Lopez and Julia de Leeuw both registered assists against the Pride, while Miley Brezgel made three saves in 34:17 minutes between the posts.
Hofstra is back on the road on Friday, September 11, with a 3 p.m. contest at Quinnipiac.
NOTES:
-This is the second multi-goal game of the season for Bertone.
-Hofstra has now won back-to-back come-from-behind overtime contests against Wagner, beating the Seahawks 4-3 in last season's meeting.
-Hofstra is now 10-4 all-time against Wagner. Today's win is the first for Hofstra on Staten Island since March 5, 2021.
-Hofstra outshot Wagner 18-13 and earned 10 penalty corners to Wagner's seven.
