GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah University Field Hockey team hosted the No. 11 Ursinus College Bears for a mid-week match-up. After 60 minutes of regulation, the Falcons and Bears remained scoreless and headed into overtime. Joy Lippert made four saves in the last 30 seconds of regulation to force overtime. In the 7-vs-7 overtime period, the Falcons maintained early possession and Caitlyn Weatherill was able to find Aubrey Clark for the spin around shot that found the back of the cage to give Messiah the 1-0 victory.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday, September 20, at 4:30 p.m. when they face Christopher Newport University at a neutral site game at the University of Mary Washington.

First Half
As has become common for the Falcons, much of the first half was spent in a back-and-forth battle in possession. The Bears fired the first shot of the game about four minutes in, but Joy Lippert made the save in goal for Messiah. The Bears fired a second shot on goal that was again saved by Lippert before Caitlyn Weatherill fired the Falcons' first shot on goal. The Bear's goalie was able to make the save, but Messiah built momentum and picked up a penalty corner as a shot from Anna Bea Koenig was blocked. Both teams remained shotless for the remaining time in the first quarter.

The Bears were once again leading the charge in chances in the second quarter as they fired a shot wide and earned a penalty corner in the first 2:30 of the second quarter. It was another six minutes of back-and-forth play before Ursinus had a chance at a penalty corner, but the Messiah defense cleared the ball to keep the score 0-0 as the teams went into halftime.

Second Half
Out of the break, the Bears forced Joy Lippert to make an early save before the possession trading began again. Messiah earned a penalty corner that resulted in a shot for Anna Bea Koenig that looked like it would fly past the goalie's outstretched stick, but it missed just high. Casey Tyrrell missed a shot just wide on a penalty corner attempt. Ursinus fired three more shots before the quarter ended but the Falcons' defense blocked two before the last missed wide.

To begin the final quarter of regulation, Ursinus earned three penalty corners before they were able to fire off a shot that was blocked by the Messiah defense. A minute later the Bears fired on goal and Joy Lippert made the save once again for the Falcons. A blocked shot for Audrey Weger followed by a save for Lippert at the other end brought the clock to just under four minutes to play. In the final 30 seconds of play, Ursinus earned three penalty corners that resulted on four shots on goal that were each saved by Joy Lippert to force the game into regulation.

Overtime
As the Falcons and Bears took the field for a 7-vs-7 overtime period, Lindsey Campione fired the first shot that was blocked by a Bears' defender. Chelsea Carpenter fired a shot from a penalty corner opportunity that was saved by the Ursinus goalie. After a Messiah foul in front of the Ursinus goal, Caitlyn Weatherill intercepted the first pass from the Bears' defender, found a cutting Aubrey Clark, who went one-on-one with the goalie. Clark used a spin-around move to beat the goalie to the right to find the back of the cage and give Messiah the 1-0 overtime victory.

Stats
Aubrey Clark led the Falcons with one goal while Caitlyn Weatherill added an assist. The Falcons had nine shots with three shots on goal. Joy Lippert made nine saves in goal for the Falcons.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, September 20, at 4:30 p.m. when they face Christopher Newport University at a neutral site game at the University of Mary Washington.