Dialog reporter
CLAYMONT – Leah DaCosta scored early in the overtime period to lift Archmere to a 3-2 win over No. 6 Mount Pleasant in a field hockey matinee Friday in Claymont. The junior’s goal helped the Auks salvage a win on a day when their opponent controlled play most of the game and fought back from a 2-0 deficit late in regulation.
Mount Pleasant forced overtime when Sarah Gosling scored from in close with 3:40 left in the second half. Gosling grabbed the rebound of a Casey Wakai shot from the top of the circle and found herself with an open cage. Gosling’s goal capped a furious second half for the Green Knights, who pressured the Auks most of the game.
After Gosling scored, the Auks found their missing offense. Madison Hernick’s shot off a penalty corner was saved by Mount goalkeeper Kelsey Eroh, and on a free ball shortly thereafter, Eroh made a fine kick save. Archmere played another free ball with just 11 seconds remaining on the clock. DaCosta dribbled the ball into the circle and fed Presley Conaty, whose shot rolled just wide, sending the game to the extra period.
Mount Pleasant (6-2) dictated the play much of the first half but could not put anything past Archmere keeper Mady McDougal. Archmere gained the momentum for just a few minutes of the half, and it paid off with two goals within a minute and 16 seconds. Kennedy Murphy notched the first goal, taking a pass from Lorin Donovan and sending it into the cage with 16:02 remaining in the half.
Archmere (7-1) kept the pressure on, and it paid off a short time later. Eroh came way out from her net to smother a shot by Archmere’s Sarah Bunting, but on an Auks penalty corner, Conaty corralled a loose ball and got behind the keeper, tapping it in for the 2-0 lead at the 14:46 mark.
The second half was played largely in Mount Pleasant’s offensive zone, and the visitors finally broke through. McDougal had stopped a few shots early in the half, but with 13:14 to go in regulation, Elizabeth Soucy picked up a rebound during a scramble in front of the keeper and knocked it home, getting the Green Knights on the board. That set the stage for Mount’s late equalizer and DaCosta’s winner.
The Green Knights had 14 shots to Archmere’s 15 and received 11 penalty corners, while the Auks had seven. Eroh had 11 saves, McDougal nine. Mount will look to end its two-game losing streak Monday at 3:45 p.m. at A.I. DuPont. The Auks stay home to host 6-1 Sanford Tuesday at 3:45 p.m.
