Quakers fall in double-overtime thriller

History does repeat itself — to an extent.

On Friday, Penn field hockey fell to Columbia at Franklin Field, 3-2, in double overtime.

The last time the Quakers (6-6, 1-3 Ivy) hosted the Lions (8-4, 3-1) two years ago, they came away with a monumental 3-2 overtime win.

On Friday it was the same teams, same place, same score, same extra time, but different outcome.

Sophomore Emily Corcoran started the scoring in the 13th minute. Corcoran tipped the ball in at the goal line as the Red and Blue converted on their first penalty corner of the night.

It appeared that the Quakers would ride that 1-0 lead into halftime, but a Columbia equalizer with 22 seconds remaining sent the teams into the break tied.

Penn took the lead again in the second half on the heels of junior Sunny Stirewalt’s blast off yet another corner. Once again, the Red and Blue were in the driver’s seat.

But the Lions wouldn’t let that score stand for long. Barely four minutes later, Columbia managed to tie the game, winning a battle inside the circle. The 2-2 tie stood until the regulation horn sounded.

For the first 70 minutes, Columbia out-possessed the Quakers and put up 18 shots. But Penn’s defense, as it has done recently, clamped down inside its defensive 25. In goal, sophomore keeper Carly Sokach was solid, recording 10 saves.

The tone of overtime was slightly different, however. As has been characteristic of coach Colleen Fink’s teams since she took over the program in April 2010, Penn came out with plenty of firepower early on.

The Quakers nearly made overtime short-lived, as the offense mostly kept the pressure on Columbia’s end of the field. Sokach did her part as well, deflecting away a drive that was heading for the inner post with her left kneepad.

“Carly had an outstanding game,” Fink said. “I think she made a lot of really clutch saves.”

The score held for the first 15-minute overtime period, forcing a second extra frame.

Again, the Quakers hit the ground running, and in some ways, it felt they would find a third goal. The Lions, who had not held a lead during the game, had been playing catch-up all night. But that’s Columbia, which has five come-from-behind victories this season after Friday’s win.

The game-winner, which came just 67 seconds into the second overtime, was a bit of a stunner. After the Red and Blue pressed the ball into Columbia territory, the Lions got a stop and went on a quick counter-attack, sending the ball out to their right wing, who pushed the ball ahead to Gabby Kozlowski. Kozlowski, who finished with eight shots, capitalized on the one-on-one with Sokach.

“I think our team played really tough, and with a lot of character,” Fink said. “We did a lot of things we needed to win today … We just needed to capitalize on more of those scoring opportunities.”

Both Fink and her players have mentioned over the course of the season that a major goal is to finish above .500. To do so, they’ll need to win three of their remaining five games, starting with a trip north to New Haven, Conn., on Saturday.

SEE ALSO

Penn field hockey out for revenge against Lions

Offense dominates in Penn field hockey win

Field hockey looks to stay on the right side of .500

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