MONTCLAIR, NJ – Olivia Specht (Baldwin) netted the game-winning goal 3:57 into overtime to lift the nationally 12th-ranked Cortland field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over nationally 19th-ranked MIT on Saturday afternoon in a neutral-site contest hosted by Montclair State. Cortland moves to 1-1 on the year, while MIT is 0-1.
Specht's goal was the first of her Cortland career, and
Lillian Morse (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) scored Cortland's opening goal for her first collegiate goal.
Emma Morgan (Whitney Point) made three saves in goal, including two clutch saves in the fourth quarter to preserve the tie game.
Shealy Callahan scored MIT's goal and had a team-high two shots on goal, while Janie Thomas provided an assist. Goalkeeper Maeve Zimmer stopped 10 shots in for the Engineers.
The Red Dragons wasted little time opening the scoring in the first quarter, as Morse dribbled from the top of the circle past a defender and blasted a shot from the right off the goalkeeper and into the right corner of the goal.
Cortland had a chance to double its advantage late in the quarter on a penalty stroke, but Zimmer came up with a huge save sliding to the right to deny the attempt.
The Red Dragons fired five shots on target in the second quarter, continuing to control possession. However, Zimmer came up with saves on all of the shots on goal, and the Engineers tied the game when Callahan knocked a shot past Morgan with just over five minutes left in the half.
The third quarter featured two shots on target for Cortland that were saved, one each by
Sadie Hoffmann (Miller Place) and
Ava Passante (Endwell/Maine-Endwell). The Cortland defense also kept the Engineers from recording a shot on goal in the frame.
In the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, Morgan stopped a pair of shots to keep the game knotted at 1-1 and send the contest into the 7-on-7 overtime.
Specht's game winner came on the only shot attempt of the extra frame, collecting the ball outside the circle on the left, driving down the left past a defender, and sliding a shot past Zimmer into the bottom right corner of the net to give the Red Dragons their first win of the year.
