MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Eighty minutes of field hockey could not separate St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Penn State Harrisburg. A shootout did.
Top-seeded Penn State Harrisburg won the shootout 3-1 after a 1-1 draw through regulation and two overtimes Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, taking the United East Conference championship from the second-seeded Seahawks, according to the SMCM athletics recap. The result goes in the books as a 2-1 Harrisburg win.
The loss ended St. Mary’s two-year run as conference champion and its season at 10-8. It was the first United East tournament title for the Lions (12-5).
How it happened
After a scoreless first half, Harrisburg struck four minutes into the third quarter. Sadie Cook sent the ball toward the far post, and Alysa McCarthy deflected it in at 34:27.
Senior Safi Stimely of Linthicum, a Broadneck High graduate, answered just over two minutes later. She carried the ball from the 50-yard line into the circle, split two defenders and scored at 36:44 to tie it.
Neither team scored again in regulation. Harrisburg dominated the first overtime, outshooting St. Mary’s 7-3 and earning three penalty corners, but junior goalkeeper Sophia Kent of Chesterville made six saves to keep it tied. The Seahawks flipped the pressure in the second overtime, outshooting the hosts 5-1, but Lions goalkeeper Macenzie Mulholland made four stops.
Both teams missed their first two shootout attempts. Anna Moyer scored for Harrisburg and senior Tori Hampton of Frederick answered for St. Mary’s. McCarthy then put the Lions ahead, St. Mary’s missed its fourth attempt, and Kasey Toth clinched the title.
By the numbers
| Stat | No. 2 SMCM | No. 1 Penn State Harrisburg |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 1 | 1 |
| Shots | 12 | 16 |
| Shots on goal | 9 | 14 |
| Saves | 13 | 8 |
| Penalty corners | 5 | 6 |
| Shootout | 1 | 3 |
- Kent: 13 saves, including six in the first overtime
- Stimely: 1 goal on 3 shots, 2 on goal
- Sophomore Julie Presgraves of Frederick: 3 shots, all on goal
- Sophomore Josie Mascolo, a St. Mary’s Ryken graduate: 2 shots, 1 on goal
- Sophomore Morgan Knott: 2 shots, both on goal
- Harrisburg’s Moyer: 6 shots, 5 on goal
The road to Middletown
St. Mary’s reached its third straight United East final after scoring four second-half goals to beat Lancaster Bible 5-1 in the semifinal on Oct. 31, a game in which Mascolo set up the go-ahead goal. The Seahawks had clinched the No. 2 seed by shutting out Cedar Crest to close the regular season.
A win Saturday would have given St. Mary’s a third consecutive conference crown. Instead, Harrisburg, which also beat the Seahawks’ women’s soccer team in that sport’s United East final the same day, swept both titles over St. Mary’s.
Stimely and Hampton played their final games for the Seahawks, while Kent, Presgraves, Mascolo and Knott are among the players expected back next fall.
Up next: The Seahawks’ season is complete.
