SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The No. 21 Swarthmore College field hockey team dropped a hard-fought battle against No. 10 Rowan University, 3-2, in overtime on Wednesday night. 

The Garnet battled back from a 2-0 first-half deficit, but were unable to complete the comeback against a top-10 nationally-ranked opponent. Hayley Harris and Sophia Hitchingham both provided third-quarter tallies to force overtime. Harris scored her second goal of the season with a penalty stroke, before Hitchingham tied the game in the 41st minute with the equalizer. 

Violet Garibaldi played the full game in the cage for the Garnet with seven saves in her first career start. Swarthmore outshot the Profs, 21-12, with an 11-6 advantage in penalty corners. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Rowan struck first with the game's first goal at the 5:53 mark. Moments later, Amelia Landry nearly capitalized off back-to-back Swarthmore corner attempts. The junior elevated a shot past the goalie, but was denied by the crossbar with 3:00 remaining in the opening quarter. The Garnet outshot the Profs 5-1 in the stanza. 

- The Profs added on with another tally in the second quarter to double their lead heading into halftime. Swarthmore had its opportunities with five shots on goal in the quarter, but were unable to sneak one past Rowan's goalie. The Garnet outshot their opponent for the second-straight quarter with a 6-3 advantage. 

- The Garnet finally broke through with a quick second-half goal to cut their deficit to one. Gabriella Vasquez earned a penalty stroke for the Garnet after her scoring attempt was denied by a Rowan infraction. Harris took the stroke and beat the keeper low for her second goal of the season. Swarthmore maintained momentum with a game-tying score off the stick of Hitchingham in the 41st minute. The senior attacked from the left side of the cage after stealing a loose ball in their offensive zone. 

- Garibaldi preserved the tie with three-straight saves in the 50th minute. The Profs brought traffic in front of the cage and fired three shots on goal, which were all stopped by the first-year goalie. Swarthmore had an excellent opportunity off a corner attempt in the 53rd minute. Hannah Ulrich fired a strike from center, which was deflected by the outstretched pad of Rowan's goalie. The Garnet then created another scoring chance off a second corner, but were denied twice by the goalie. 

- The Profs secured victory with the game-winning goal after two minutes of overtime. Rowan poked the ball away at midfield before making one final run at the cage for its decisive third goal.

GARNET LEADERS
Goals: Hitchingham, Harris 1
Shots: Hitchingham 5
Saves: Garibaldi 7

UP NEXT
The Garnet (0-2) travel to Susquehanna University for their first road contest of the season on Saturday.