SELINSGROVE, PA – In an evenly-contested battle throughout, it was only fitting that both Susquehanna and Rowan each had a fair chance in overtime with the game tied at 9-9. The Profs' opening shot was stonewalled by goalie
Aerin O'Brien, then on the River Hawks' trip down,
Kelsey Homberg used speed to get down the right wing, sending it top shelf that bounced off the crossbar and in for an astounding 10-9 overtime victory. The win sets Susquehanna up with its third straight to advance to 4-2.
The early going appeared to be trending in Rowan's direction, similar to how they handled the River Hawks by an 18-8 score in their first-ever meeting last season. The Profs jumped out to a 3-1 lead in a goal-heavy first quarter, with Calista Burke responsible for two of those goals and
Heather Riefenhauser serving as the River Hawks' lone response in that opening stretch. Susquehanna settled in and responded with its own 3-1 run, brought forth by
Liv Owen netting the first two of her four-goal afternoon and
Allie Kutler providing the equalizer to start the second quarter tied at 4-4. From then on goals were hard to come by as both sides exchanged a score before going to halftime knotted up at 5-5 by way of Fiona Lockhart for Rowan with 4:37 left in the half and Riefenhauser beating the halftime clock to tie the match up with 3.4 seconds showing.
The third quarter began with back-and-forth scoring before the River Hawks broke things open with three straight, the first two by Owen and the third by Homberg to take a 9-7 lead. The Profs answered with a pair of unanswered scores split between the third and fourth quarters, both by Elaina Corson, that pushed the game to a 9-9 tie. As the drama intensified on the field, so did the rainfall as the ever-present cascade played factor in both teams' abilities to possess the ball and try to gain the lead. Through it all Susquehanna's goalie O'Brien continued dazzling display in net, with three saves in the fourth quarter in a nine-save day, while fighting for three ground balls near the net.
The game carried into overtime, with Rowan winning the opening draw control. Caitlyn Burke fired a shot from inside the eight, but it bounced off O'Brien's stick and gathered by the sophomore keeper to send the action down the other way. With Rowan's defense holding firm, including batting away an attempted pass from Homberg, head coach
Randall Swope called a timeout to offer up the team's next move. The maneuver paid off as the action found its way again to Homberg. Set up top center just over the blue line, Homberg relied on her speed to get past defender Ryley O'Brien, running down the right wing and getting inside the eight to send a shot past Rowan keeper Mel Rodgers that bounced off the crossbar and the left post to cross the goal line and give SU the satisfying victory.
In all the team stat lines remained relatively close, with Susquehanna holding a slim 27-24 lead in shots and Rowan leading 18-17 in shots on goal. Lockhart led the Profs with three goals, though it was Owen that led all scorers with five points on the day on four goals and one assist, including one score on a free position and a game-high seven ground balls. Riefenhauser was next up with three points on two goals and an assist, while Homberg netted two goals and Kutler registering two points with one goal and one assist.
The win puts Susquehanna in prime position entering spring break and a chance to up their non-conference record before entering Landmark Conference play later this month. It all begins Wednesday when they travel to face Marymount, followed by next Saturday on the road at Lebanon Valley. It's all Landmark from then on starting at Drew Saturday, Mar. 23.
