Box Score Swarthmore, Pa. – Freshman forward Erin Gluck completed her hat trick 57 seconds into overtime, giving the Swarthmore field hockey (8-5, 3-3) a 3-2 (OT) victory over Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon from Clothier Field Stadium.
Gluck, who entered the contest with two goals on the season, finished a two-on-one counterattack in the first minute of extra time after junior Nia Jones slid a perfect ball across the goalmouth from the right side.
The win for the Garnet is their first against Gettysburg since 2000.
In a match that could have hardly been more even, with shots and shots on goal even through 70 minutes, Swarthmore opened the scoring in the 14
th minute of the first half off a long hit on the right side.
Abby Lauder penetrated toward the baseline and found Gluck alone by the stroke mark. With a quick windup, Gluck pounded a shot through Bullet 'keeper Megan Feeg for a 1-0 lead.
The Bullets responded 12 minutes later as Gettysburg catalyst Hayward Sawers fed Kelly Spieker for her second goal of the season. Gettysburg outshot Swarthmore 7-6 in the opening 35 as the teams went into the break deadlocked.
Gluck broke the tie on the Garnet's first penalty corner of the second half. In the 44
th minute, senior
Sophia Agathis sent an initial shot in on Feeg that fell right at the netminder's feet. The freshman was there with a quick pull and flick to restore Swarthmore's advantage.
The assist for Agathis was the 27th of her career as she tied Kristen English '00 for fifth most in program history.
It was Sawers who brought the game even again in the 52nd minute as she created a steal on the left side of the Gettysburg attack and dribbled middle before finishing far post.
Though both teams continued to threaten in the final 18 minutes of regulation, several key saves and interceptions from junior
Gabby Capone in the Swarthmore net and a stellar diving save from Bullet defender Mari Bigley kept the match 2-2.
That set the stage for Gluck's winner as Swarthmore weathered an initial rush from the visitors before breaking into the counter off a 16-yard hit. With their blistering speed, Jones and Gluck quickly created an odd-woman rush and pulled the Garnet into a thicket of teams in the middle of the Centennial standings where eight teams are within a game of second place.
The Garnet returns to play in one week with a visit to McDaniel on October 13 at 1:00.
