Katie Gibb’s two goals this season have been executed in the same way: a penalty corner in which the junior defender, the inserter, is passed back the ball for a shot next to the cage.
Except both times, that wasn’t the plan.
On Saturday, with overtime looming in a 2-2 game against Colgate University, the Leopards were given a penalty corner opportunity with just a minute left.
The plan was for freshman midfielder Rosalie van Gool to take her “killer sweep” on Gibb’s insert. But Gibb noticed that she was standing at a different angle, and missed something van Gool was trying to say to her.
“She passed it back to me, and I could see the goalie coming out super hard at me, so I just pushed in there,” Gibb said. She explained that the team had practiced capitalizing on goalies playing far away from the cage.
“I guess I’m in the right spot at the right time,” Gibb said.
Her goal clinched both the win and a Patriot League playoff berth for the field hockey team.
Last-in-the-league Colgate (0-4 Patriot League, 4-10 overall) nearly upset the reigning Patriot League champions (4-1 Patriot League, 9-5 overall) in Saturday’s matchup, but the Leopards were able to power through the fourth quarter to victory.
“Even though the rankings say that they’re last, Colgate was still a good and capable team,” said junior forward Lea Good, also commenting on her opponents’ speed and defense.
After a slow first quarter for both teams, the third shot was the charm for Good in the second quarter. A fast break by the Leopards got the ball up to van Gool and freshman forward Linda Nova around the circle. Nova found a wide-open Good in front of the cage, and she easily got around the Colgate goalie, who went for the save prematurely.
“She would be diving a lot, so I think when she dives, it’s just moving the ball around her so then now we can score,” Good said.
The Leopards went into halftime up 1-0 and held the Raiders to no shots in the first half.
However, Colgate exited the locker room with new energy. A Raider penalty corner three minutes in was blocked by Gibb, but the visiting team was given a second opportunity, which it saw through on a deflected shot that senior goalkeeper Raffi Fragomeni could not bat away.
Just a few minutes later, Colgate beat its opposing defense on a fast break for a wide-open goal to flip the script 2-1. The two goals given up made Lafayette the only Patriot League team not to shut out the Raiders so far this season.
“It felt like we were playing scared, a little bit like we were waiting for something to happen, instead of being proactive and doing it ourselves,” Gibb said.
The game was finally tied by sophomore midfielder Laila Pasic in the final minute of the quarter. A smooth series of passes downfield led to junior defender Lena Thedrian, who got off a backhanded shot, tipped by Pasic into the goal.
“I think that huddle after they scored and they were up really helped us recollect and take a breath,” Good said. “After that, we regained everything — regained possession and confidence overall.”
With the game tied entering the final quarter, both teams were on the hunt for the leg up. But Lafayette largely dominated possession and outshot their opponents 7-1.
Throughout the first 14 minutes, a variety of Leopards could not find the back of the cage, but they were able to thwart off the Raiders until Gibb found the golden goal.
“We can capitalize when we really need to capitalize, and I think Katie really did that,” Good said.
The victory is Lafayette’s 10th consecutive against the other Maroon and White since 2015.
The Leopards will play in their final Patriot League game before the league tournament against Boston University (2-2 Patriot League, 5-8 overall) away on Friday.
