ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta field hockey team capped off the regular season with a 3-2 non-conference win over RPI, on Senior Day, Saturday afternoon at All College Field. Oneonta never trailed in the back-and-forth scoring contest as sophomore
Marissa Stephan (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) scored the game-winning goal in the final minutes of the third quarter. Junior
Alexandra Howell (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) led the team with a goal and two assists, and senior
Maura Leib (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse Minoa) picked up 13 saves in the victory. The Red Dragons ended the regular season 9-7 overall, while the Engineers finished 8-9.
Graduate student
Caitlyn Caulfield (Albany, N.Y./Guilderland) scored the game's opening goal at 2:26 in the first period. Oneonta had a penalty corner and got the ball to Howell, who lasered it into the shooting circle where Caulfield redirected the ball into cage for her fifth goal of the season.
After Caulfield's score, RPI answered with a goal 20 seconds later from Sophia Brown, and the teams went into the second quarter tied at one.
The Red Dragons regained the lead at 21:21 in the second period. Howell got possession of the ball and brought it down to the shooting circle's endline. The junior then cut towards the cage, got past one defender, and found a sliver of an opening between the Engineers' goalie and another defender for her 11th goal of the season. Leib made a couple saves following Howell's goal to keep Oneonta's one-goal lead heading into halftime.
The Engineers tied the game at 36:13 in the third quarter when Grace Johnson found Emily Dubord for the score.
In the closing moments of the third period, at 43:34, Stephan gave the Red Dragons the lead for good. Senior
Molly Miller (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) took the penalty corner for Oneonta and passed it to junior
Abigail Draper (Remsen, NY/Holland Patent), and she sent it to Howell. Howell received the ball at the top of the shooting circle and fired it into the center of the circle, where Stephan redirected the ball over the goalkeeper and into the cage for the game-winner and her second goal of the season.
Leib recorded four saves in the final period, including two in the final two minutes, to preserve Oneonta's victory. Tess Garchinsky finished the game with three saves for the Engineers.
RPI outshot Oneonta 25-7 in total shots, 15-6 on goal, and they held an 11-4 advantage in penalty corners.
Throughout the day, Oneonta acknowledged and celebrated the careers of their four seniors for Senior Day. Those recognized were
Gabby Alfinito (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland),
Olivia Bonelli (Kerhonkson, N.Y./Rondout Valley),
Maura Leib (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse Minoa), and
Molly Miller (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa).
The Red Dragon's next match will be in New Paltz for the SUNYAC tournament semifinals where they will play Salisbury on Friday, November 7, at 11 am.
