By Ajan Caneda

Writer

The Bison field hockey team split this weekend’s games at Lehigh and Towson. The team traveled to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on the Mountain Hawks on Saturday, and despite their aggressive play early on, the Bison ended the game with a 1-0 loss. On Sunday, the Bison went to College Park, Md. and improved their overtime record to 3-0 after forward Mallory Smith ’12 scored the game winning goal against Towson, her second goal of the game.

The Mountain Hawks struck first, scoring the first goal just 10 minutes into the game. The Bison outshot Lehigh in the first period 8-5 but were unable to convert. They continued the barrage of shots on the Mountain Hawks in the second half, outshooting them 17-2 and 10-1 in penalty corners. It was to no avail, as Lehigh prevented the Bison from scoring and had 15 saves for the whole game.

“The Lehigh loss was a big one, as we now need to beat Colgate on the road just to get into the Patriot League Tournament. We felt like we really controlled the game and just couldn’t find the net,” head coach Jeremy Cook said. “Their goalkeeper had a fantastic game, and we were a bit unlucky at times. Making the most of your opportunities is often what it comes down to and Lehigh was able to do that.”

Following the loss at Lehigh, the Bison came away with a hard-fought overtime victory over Towson. The Orange and Blue got off to a quick start as Smith scored the first goal 45 seconds into the game with an assist from forward Rachel Misko ’14. The Bison and the Tigers both had five shots in the first half. Towson scored an assisted goal in the 59th minute but forward Katie Durkin ’13 immediately responded with a goal of her own with an assist from midfielder Vickie Resh ’14. Towson evened the score with an unassisted goal before overtime. The Bison quickly ended the Tigers’ night as Smith scored three minutes into the overtime period off a rebound.

“Towson was a great win. They are a tough team from a very tough conference. Our overtime success is partly due to the format, and the extra space on the field suits our style of game and the players we have very well,” Cook said. “Although Towson created some momentum for itself with a late tying goal, we had all the confidence in the world going into overtime, and it really showed.”

The Bison look to carry this momentum into their game against American on Saturday.