SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Nov.18) – Behind a game-winning goal from sophomore
Morgan Paterson, the University of Mount Olive field hockey team advanced to the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Championship match with a 2-1 double-overtime win over Newberry in the semifinals of the league tournament on Friday afternoon.
With the win, the Trojans extend their winning streak to 14-straight games, the longest in NCAA Division II Field Hockey, and improve to 14-2 in division play. Mount Olive will face Converse in the finals of the conference tournament on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, the Wolves concluded their season with an 11-8 overall mark after making it to the semifinals for a third consecutive year.
In the overtime periods, Newberry tallied a penalty corner and a pair of shots but was unable to break the tie. Just 51 seconds into double-overtime, freshman
Nikki Bos delivered a stellar through ball to Paterson, who beat the goalkeeper one-on-one to complete the 2-1 comeback win and move on to the championship match.
The Trojans controlled possession in the opening 10-plus minutes of the first quarter after tallying four shots and two penalty corners. The Wolves countered in the closing minute and earned a pair of penalty corners before scoring on a goal by freshman Lieke Varenkamp, 1-0. Mount Olive had zero shots in the second quarter and defended three penalty corners, as Newberry held a 1-0 lead at halftime.
In the third, UMO was awarded a penalty stroke at the 40:35-mark, which was saved following a shot from Paterson to keep the Wolves in the lead. On a penalty corner in the opening minutes of the fourth, junior
Alisia Lovejoy scored off a deflection from an initial shot from sophomore
Annefleur Moerkerken to tie the game, 1-1.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Alanna Barrett started the entire match between the posts and collected three saves on 11 shots attempted in over 70 minutes of action.
The Trojans return to action on Sunday, Nov. 20, when they face Converse in the SAC Championship match at 2 p.m. UMO will be making its first-ever appearance in the finals of the league tournament in just its fourth year as a program.
