Highlights by Bonssa Tufa
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Story by Izzy Agricola
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The Quinnipiac field hockey team knew it was not going to make playoffs two weeks ago, but that did not stop the team from playing with a competitive edge that forced a double overtime against Temple in its final game of the season.

The Bobcats (5-13) beat the Owls (6-9) with six minutes to go in the second overtime period 3-2.

“I think the team knows there’s a consistency, and the effort always needs to be there,” Head coach Becca Main said. “So when your coaches are working extra hard and the game plan is extra detailed and you’re asking for more of them, they know to stay in that routine. It’s hard because this is the last third year in a row where we don’t play in postseason.”

The Owls got a penalty corner less than a minute into the game and capitalized off of it. Senior Kathryn Edgar drove the ball in to senior Becky Gerhart tipped it in.

Freshmen Julianna Capello and Eva Veldhorst showed the Bobcats’ future strength as they pushed back hard, but they could not score in the first quarter.

“Eva and I love playing on the right side together, and I like having her behind me because she’s such a trustworthy player,” Capello said. “It teaches us in years on her and I are going to, like, we’re going to build a stronger connection, and we’re just going to utilize that for the rest of our four years here.”

Capello tied it up for the Bobcats in the second quarter with a three person passing sequence to get it to her in front of the net. Sophomore Amanda Funaro lifted the ball high to redshirt sophomore Brooke Whipkey who swept it to Capello. Temple goalkeeper Cristina Carotenuto initially stopped Capello, but the Bobcat pulled around her and shot to tie the game.

“Julianna started out a little bit slow and we kept thinking, our expectation was really high,” Main said. “And so she took a little second to get together and it took a little while for us to figure her out.”

Temple took the lead again with two minutes left in the game on a goal from sophomore Claire Thomas, but Quinnipiac was not done.

The Bobcats got a penalty corner 19 seconds later. Graduate Bianka Strubbe drove one hard to the net to tie the game and eventually force overtime.

“We [practice] overtime every single Wednesday every year, all year,” Main said “I say it every time we go in overtime like, ‘We do this every Wednesday so let’s go after it.’”

Both teams had scoring opportunities in the first overtime period but could not capitalize.

Four minutes into the second overtime the Bobcats struck. Capello drove one hard past Carotenudo off an assist from Whipkey to end the Bobcats’ season with a win.

“That’s the best part of the game is when like you’re just like relieved that you won and your teammates come out and support you with that,” Capello said.

The Bobcats will look to rebuild next season as they lose six senior leaders.

“We have to learn to all be able to play as one unit move as one unit,” Main said. “That’s going to be hard. It’s going to change our philosophy away from tactics and outleting and pressing to more about sitting in a game and playing in a game together, so that’ll be our spring.”

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