Down 2-1, the Leopards managed to stop a Penn State penalty corner with their goalkeeper subbed out and four minutes left.
With the buzzer less than a minute away, Lafayette got a penalty corner chance of its own to tie the game.
Junior defender Lena Thedrian fired off a drag flick for the score, sneaking it under the diving goalie. The ball did not find the goal. But it did reach the stick of freshman forward Lauren Kurek, ready at the post.
“The ball just found my stick, and I just kept hitting it until it was in the goal,” Kurek said.
Two overtime periods later, the field hockey team found itself in a shootout with the Nittany Lions. Senior goalkeeper Raffi Fragomeni gave up a single goal to bring the Maroon and White to its first victory against Penn State since 2012.
The Leopards (1-0 Patriot League, 5-3 overall) came roaring back last weekend after their three-game losing streak to shut out rivals Lehigh University 3-0 on Friday and knock down No. 18 Penn State University 3-2 on Sunday.
The rivalry game saw the Maroon and White capitalize on all penalty corners given up by the host Mountain Hawks (0-1 Patriot League, 1-6 overall).
“We put a lot of work into our penalty corners,” Kurek said. “We have some really, really great people that are just so skilled in taking them.”
Despite a scoring drought on both sides for the first two quarters, junior midfielder Stella Malinowski saw her penalty corner through in the final minute of the half with assists from senior defender Makenzie Switzer and sophomore midfielder Mia Freeman.
The third quarter passed scoreless, but the Leopards sealed the deal in the fourth quarter with penalty corner goals from midfielders senior Josephine van Wijk and sophomore Kiley Gallagher — the latter of which just beat the final buzzer after a deflection by the Lehigh goalkeeper.
The Maroon and White outshot Lehigh a whopping 21-5, holding their opponents to just one shot in the first half.
“We worked a lot on our defense the past few weeks, and I think it showed up very well,” Thedrian said. “We tried not to give them as many opportunities and keep our cage clean.”
Penn State (4-3 overall) was the only team that the Leopards played and scrimmaged against in the preseason, according to Kurek.
“They were just another team,” she said. “The main thing was that we’re going to outwork them.”
The home team scratched first with a swing from Thedrian that slipped past the goalie on a penalty corner in the seventh minute.
Penn State was fended off until the second quarter, when a forward forced her way down the baseline to find an open player in front of the cage, who tied the score.
“I think we did a very good job sinking in, putting our heads down and not being frustrated about it,” Thedrian said.
Things were getting dangerous for the Maroon and White after a third-quarter penalty stroke put them down one. However, Kurek juggled in her last-minute score to give the Leopards momentum through two scoreless rounds of overtime.
Lafayette was outshot 6-3 in extra time but managed to hang on until the shootout, even sticking out being down a player after a yellow card put Malinoswki on the sidelines in the first round.
“We were really patient during overtime, and we need to be a little bit more decisive with our decisions, especially when to attack,” Malinowski said.
Fragomeni made four saves in overtime to keep the Leopards in the game.
“Defense is what won that game,” Kurek said. “Especially in overtime, our defense was just out of this world insane. People were just literally throwing themselves in front of the ball.”
The last time the Leopards faced a shootout was a loss against Providence College in 2019.
Malinoswki saw the Leopards’ first shot land true, getting under the goalie with a backhanded goal. Fragomeni warded off the Nittany Lions at first, but a foul forced a second attempt that got into the cage, tying the shootout.
After both teams exchanged two misses, junior forward Lea Good had the last chance to get the Leopards up. Faking out the goalie, she pushed the ball between her opponent’s padded legs and into the goal.
Fragomeni faced Penn State’s top scorer, Joji Purdy, to bring home victory. Rushing out from the goal and knocking the ball away, Fragomeni kept her opponent from getting a shot off.
“Raffi had an incredible shootout,” Malinowski said.
Thedrian, Fragomeni and Kurek were named three of five Patriot League field hockey players of the week for their efforts.
The Leopards will play at home against Bucknell University (1-0 Patriot League, 3-4 overall) for more Patriot League play on Friday.
“It’s gonna be a good battle, but I think we’re all excited for the challenge,” Malinoswki said.
