Score: Oswego State 2, Elmira College 1 (2OT)
Records: Oswego (4-0), Elmira (0-4)
Location: Pine Valley, N.Y. -- Murray Athletic Center

PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- The Elmira College field hockey team dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker to Oswego State by a final score of 2-1 in the Soaring Eagles' 2016 home opener at the Murray Athletic Center on Wednesday afternoon.

The Purple and Gold struck first in the waning moments of the opening half with a goal from Sarah McCaffrey '18. After entering the ball into play off of a penalty corner, McCaffrey joined the scrum in front of the goal and eventually gathered the ball on her stick. She fired a shot from close range past Oswego goalie Sarita Charap to put EC ahead 1-0 with only 22 seconds left before the halftime intermission.

EC had a chance to double the lead inside the final three minutes of regulation. Alison Mariano '18 had her first shot blocked by a defender, but the rebound caromed right back to her stick. Charap was there to stop the second-chance opportunity with 2:13 left to play.

The frantic Laker offense was not without its share of chances in the second half. Oswego, which held a sizable advantage in the number of penalty corners attempted, had three in a row in a span of 1:06, the latter taking place with 4:22 remaining in the half. Only the third attempt resulted in a shot, which was denied by Hockenberger.

Despite nearly 69 minutes of outstanding effort by the Soaring Eagles, the visitors eventually broke down the EC defense and knotted the game. Junior Monica Harvey netted her first of two goals on the day with only 1:09 left in regulation. Harvey sliced through the defense and into the arc from the left side of the field and deposited the ball past Hockenberger, as the Elmira goalie stepped out to challenge the shooter.

In the first 15-minute overtime session, the Lakers had five penalty corners and six shots, all of which were saved by Elmira to force the second extra period. Hockenberger was forced to make five stops to preserve the tie, while one additional save came from Emily Selbert '20, as part of a frenzy in the Oswego attacking area in the 81st and 82nd minutes. The fifth save in the period came as part of a set of nail-biting Laker penalty corners. Even though time had expired, by rule, Oswego was allowed to attempt three straight penalty corners, with Hockenberger registering one save in that span.

In the second overtime period, it appeared Oswego's Brianna Ciganek had scored the game winner in the 87th minute. She rifled a shot through traffic after a penalty corner was entered by Harvey, but the attempt was taken outside of the 16-yard shooting arc. Harvey, however, would score on a similar play approximately three minutes later, with the officials ruling that her shot was taken just inside the arc.

Turning Point
Elmira held a one-goal lead for nearly 69 minutes, but was unable to keep the Lakers off of the board as the second half drew to a close. EC's Mariano had a beauty of an opportunity just prior to the equalizer, which would have secured the victory had she been able to sneak it past Charap. However, Oswego State, knowing that time was of the essence, was able to advance the ball downfield quickly and Harvey was able to penetrate the defense for the game-tying goal.

Inside the Box

• Oswego State finished with a 19-to-11 advantage in shots and an 11-to-6 lead in shots on goal.
• The Lakers were awarded a whopping 22 penalty corners, while EC had only seven.
• Mariano paced the Soaring Eagles with a trio of shots, two of which were on target.
• Atu Machika '18 and McCaffrey each took two shots.
• McCaffrey scored Elmira's lone goal.
• Hockenberger registered seven saves and allowed two goals in 89:48; EC also recorded two defensive saves.
• Harvey scored both goals for the Lakers on a game-high eight shots.
• Grace Rinaldi picked up an assist on the game-winning goal for Oswego.
• Charap earned the win in goal with five saves.

News and Notes

• Elmira's 11 shots and six shots on goal are both season highs through its first four games.
• EC's 0.818 save percentage also represents a new season high.
• McCaffrey's goal was her first of 2016 and the third of her career.
• Hockenberger established a new single-game career high with 89 minutes and 48 seconds of playing time between the pipes; her previous high was 83:39 against Wells College on September 16, 2014.
• Wednesday's game was the first to reach double-overtime for Elmira since October 1, 2012. That game ended in a shootout after 100 minutes of scoreless action, with Wells College prevailing, 1-0.

Up Next
The Elmira College field hockey team is back at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, September 17th, as the Soaring Eagles host Empire 8 Conference foe, Houghton College, for a 1:00 p.m. tilt.