ONEONTA, N.Y. (October 17, 2009) – Senior Elizabeth Zmijewski scored at the 85:59 mark of the second overtime period to lift the No. 16 Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team to a 1-0 win over Empire 8 rival Hartwick College on Saturday afternoon at Wright Stadium in Oneonta, N.Y. It is the first win for the Ducks at Hartwick in program history as each team came into contest undefeated in conference play. The win pushes the Ducks to 11-3 overall (4-0 Empire 8) and drops the Hawks to 9-4 (3-1 Empire 8).
After 70 minutes of play the two teams went to overtime deadlocked at 0-0. The first overtime period came and went with the Hawks taking three shots compared to one for the Ducks but the game remained scoreless.
Then, early in overtime number two, Zmijewski carried into the circle from 30 yards out and blasted a shot into the lower-right corner of the goal for the game-winner. It was her first tally of the season and gave Stevens its third overtime win of 2009.
Junior goalkeeper Ellyn Griggs earned her seventh shutout of the season making a total of three saves. Junior Mackenzie Chapman (Niskayuna, N.Y.) made six stops in the loss for Hartwick.
The Ducks held Hartwick without a shot in the first half and outshot the Hawks 4-2 in the second but could not find the game-winner in regulation. Stevens ended the contest with a 9-5 advantage in shots and a 7-5 edge in corners. The Ducks fought off three Hawk corners in the first overtime.
Stevens has now outscored opponents 24-11 this season and has won 10-straight regular-season conference contests dating back to the beginning of the 2008 season. The Ducks are also 6-2 in games decided by one goal this year.
Stevens is alone in first place in the conference standings and holds the head-to-head tiebreakers against the second- and third-place teams and needs to one more win to clinch a second consecutive berth in the Empire 8 Championship.
The Ducks will return to action on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when it visits Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Visit www.StevensDucks.com to follow the game using live stats.
