Rutgers Drops 3-2 Overtime Decision to Syracuse
Sep 16 | Field Hockey
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers field hockey team (3-5, 0-1 BIG EAST) built an early two-goal lead but could not hold on, losing to Syracuse (4-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) 3-2 in overtime in the BIG EAST Conference opener for both schools Sept. 15 at the RU Stadium Complex.
After a back-and-forth first 17 minutes, Rutgers was awarded a penalty stroke. SU substituted in goalie Heather Hess, but RU sophomore Amy Lewis (Hainesport, N.J.) made good on the stroke anyway, scoring her 11th goal of the year and giving the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 lead.
RU added a second goal off a broken corner play when junior Catherine Badoloto (Berlin, N.J.) brought the ball around to the right and fired through traffic, giving Rutgers a 2-0 edge just 2:18 before halftime.
However, Syracuse fought back in the second half and evened the score less than midway through the period. Alison Babbitt struck first, cashing in on an odd-player break at the 21:29 mark, followed by a penalty-corner goal from Michelle Sola with 18:25 remaining in the half.
For their second straight game, Rutgers was forced to go into overtime. Syracuse began the period with possession of the ball, and moved straight down the field to draw a corner. Sola and Jess Wreski worked the ball back and forth, and Sola eventually shot, scoring just 50 seconds into the overtime to win the game.
"We needed to win the game," said fourth-year Rutgers head coach Liz Tchou. "It's incredibly disappointing that we lost.
"It's one BIG EAST game at a time. It just hurts because I thought we had a solid game plan. The second half they really pressured us, and we just needed to be tougher on the ball."
Junior Rosalyn Wentko (Dallas, Pa.), a selection to last week's BIG EAST Honor Roll, made seven saves for the Scarlet Knights. RU owned a 9-0 edge in penalty corners and an 8-6 advantage in shots during the first 35 minutes, but those numbers reversed during the second half, when Syracuse had a 4-0 corner and 9-1 shot edge.
"I think we proved a lot during the first half," said Wentko. "Even though we didn't win, we showed that we're a team to be reckoned with. We are going to put everything we have into the BIG EAST (remaining games), and hopefully we'll be in Louisville for the tournament in November."
Rutgers will finish the weekend with a home contest against Albany Sunday, Sept. 17, at 12:00 p.m.
Syracuse 3, Rutgers 2OvertimeField Hockey BIG EAST Conference GameFriday, Sept. 15; RU Stadium Complex; Piscataway, NJSyracuse 0 2 1 3
Shots: SU 16, RU 9. Saves: SU 5 (Marie O'Brien 5, Heather Hess 0), RU 7 (Rosalyn Wentko 7). Penalty Corners: SU 5, RU 9. Cards: SU 0, RU 0. Time Team Goal Assist17:18 RU Amy Lewis (11)
Rutgers 2 0 0 2
32:32 RU Catherine Badoloto (3)
48:31 SU Alison Babbitt
51:35 SU Michelle Sola Meg Ryan, Jess Wreski
70:50 SU Sola Wreski
