HARTFORD, Conn. — Sophomore Sophia Watson (Littleton, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal 58 seconds into overtime as Trinity College pulled out a dramatic 3-2 victory over No. 12 Babson College in non-conference field hockey action Thursday evening at Sheppard Field.
With the setback, the Beavers have lost their last two games to drop to 8-6 overall, while Trinity snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 6-7 on the season.
Senior
Helen DiGiovanni (Harwich, Mass.) and junior
Penny Baroni (Dennis, Mass.) scored goals for the Beavers, and seniors
Grace Mullaney (Boxford, Mass.) and
Emma Smith (Kenilworth, Ill.) collected assists in the setback.
Juniors Julia Lambert (Concord, Mass.) and Claire Griffith (Westfield, Mass.) accounted for Trinity's first two goals, with senior Tatum Stickney (Byfield, Mass.), Watson and fellow sophomore Ava DiPasquale (Morristown, N.J.) recording assists. Junior goalie Sydney Korkosz (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) finished with seven saves in the victory for the Bantams.
Trinity took an early lead with a goal on the first penalty corner of the game just three minutes in. Stickney inserted the corner, Watson stopped it, and Lambert ripped a shot from just inside the arc that went through a wall of players and into the back of the cage for a 1-0 lead.
Despite outshooting the hosts in each of the first two quarters, it wasn't until the 42nd minute that Babson scored the equalizer, capitalizing on a penalty corner attempt. After Mullaney inserted the ball from the left side, the Beavers made a series of passes before DiGiovanni finished off the goal in the slot with an assist from Mullaney.
The Bantams regained the lead in the 50th minute when Griffith was sent in on a breakaway from the midfield stripe, then making a move to her left to avoid a charging Tibbals before depositing the ball into the goal for a 2-1 lead.
Babson would not give up and kept up the pressure on the Trinity goal, and it paid off on a penalty corner with time winding down. Baroni unloaded a shot from the top of the circle that got past Korkosz to tie the score at 2-2 with just 1:09 remaining in regulation.
It took Trinity just 58 seconds of overtime to take the wind out of Babson's sails, potting the game-winner when DiPasquale found Watson open in the offensive zone, and she spun around and ripped a shot past Tibbals inside left post.
Babson finished with a 16-6 advantage in total shots and 9-3 in shots on target. The Beavers also had a massive 11-1 margin in penalty corners.
The Beavers will play their third straight road game on Saturday with a NEWMAC match-up at Clark at 2 p.m. in Worcester. Trinity travels to No. 2 Middlebury on Saturday for an 11 a.m. contest.
GAME NOTES
• Babson is 1-3 all-time against Trinity in a series that dates back to 2014.
• The Beavers are 10-9 versus NESCAC opponents over the last three seasons.
• The Green and White are 3-5 in road games this season despite scoring as many goals (8) and they've given up (8).
