ANNVILLE, Pa. (Oct. 24, 2015) – A valiant comeback effort came up just short as the Widener University field hockey team fell to Lebanon Valley by a 3-2 score in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Arnold Field. The Pride rallied from two goals down to force an extra session before yielding the final marker in the 82nd minute.
 
Lebanon Valley improved to 10-6 overall and 5-1 in Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth play with the victory, while Widener dropped to 6-8 overall and 1-5 in league play with the defeat.
 
The Dutchwomen opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Kelsey Heck took a pass from the right side by Molly Van Leuvan and finished from close range. Maddie Fox then doubled the Dutchwomen lead by potting a rebound shortly after a penalty corner to make it 2-0 at the break.
 
After the slow start, Widener came out firing in the second half and scored two quick goals to even the score.  Senior captain Ashley Aires (Bayville, N.J.) crossed the ball to junior Alyssa Buckley (Flourtown, Pa.), who dove to send it past Victoria ByDeley to slice the deficit in half in the 50th minute. Less than five minutes later, junior captain Colleen Riley (Tannersville, Pa.) sent a pass through a defender's legs that was finished by freshman Kelly Rodgers (Oaklyn, N.J.).
 
Widener continued feeding off its own momentum and threatened multiple times to move ahead for the first time. Kayla Herr nearly gave the Pride the lead, but Kristen Garman came up with a key defensive save in the 61st minute. ByDeley then saved three shots in a row to keep the teams deadlocked at 2-all and ultimately set up overtime.
 
The extra session featured a flurry of shots and opportunities for both teams. After Pride freshman Sarah Quintus (Drexel Hill, Pa.) made a defensive save off a shot by Fox, Dana Adamson rifled two shots on target that were saved by ByDeley. Lebanon Valley, however, was able to get the golden marker in the 82nd minute when Lyndee Sheaffer finished a pass from Van Leuvan.
 
Lebanon Valley's ByDeley picked up the victory by turning away two shots in a relief role. Junior Mikayla Ninos (Northampton, Pa.) made three saves in the losing effort for the Pride, who had an 11-10 advantage in total shots and a 9-8 edge in penalty corners.
 
Widener plays its final home game of the 2015 campaign when it entertains Arcadia on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 7:00 p.m.