ASHLAND, Va. – A late surge from the Bridgewater College field hockey team forced overtime against Randolph-Macon, but the Yellow Jackets were able to outlast the Eagles, 2-1, as the game went to a penalty shootout following two periods of overtime on Wednesday night. The Yellow Jackets scored the only goal in the penalty shootout to walk away with the thrilling victory.
 
THE BASICS
Final Score: Randolph-Macon 2, Bridgewater 1 (2 OT; R-MC 1-0 in PS)
Records: Bridgewater 2-6, 0-2 ODAC; Randolph-Macon 6-4, 2-1 ODAC
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Eagles got the first shot of the game as Rylie Flick sent a shot wide of the cage just a minute into the game. She had another chance at the five-minute mark of the period but her shot was just wide. The first scoring chance for the Yellow Jackets came with just over a minute left in the first quarter as R-MC earned a penalty corner. Off the set play, Courtney Moodie rocketed a shot on frame that was kicked away, but the rebound was corralled by Alaina McCoy for a goal with just 1:05 left in the period.
• Not much offensive action took place in the second quarter with only two shots coming in the 15-minute frame. The Yellow Jackets got both of those shots off with one being kicked away by BC goalie Madalyn Miller and the other hitting the post and going wide. Randolph-Macon maintained a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
• Bridgewater had a pair of scoring chances in the third period with a shot from Lindsay Davis forcing a save by the home side's goalie which then led to another shot from Bekah Mercer that was blocked away by the Yellow Jacket defense. R-MC earned a penalty corner with a little under five minutes to go in the third and got a shot on cage that was saved by Miller to preserve the closely contested 1-0 lead by R-MC.
• Randolph-Macon took possession to start the fourth quarter and went straight into the circle with a shot on cage that was stopped by Miller to keep it a one-goal contest. The team's traded penalty corner opportunities for much of the period until Bridgewater maintained possession for much of the last few minutes of regulation. Off an R-MC foul, the Eagles controlled the ball into their offensive zone and saw Kylie Amberger find Emily Tyler who beat the goalie to tied the game with just 4:32 remaining in regulation. Bridgewater continued to control the ball for almost the remainder of regulation with Mercer getting a shot on target and Tyler adding another two shots that forced saves before time expired.
• The game headed into overtime with the Eagles possessing to start the 10-minute period. The Eagles saw a shot from Riley Chandler blocked away that helped Amberger get a shot on the cage that was sent out of play off the glove side of the R-MC goalie. Flick had another opportunity to end the game but her shot went just wide of the cage. R-MC got its first chance of the overtime period after a penalty corner that spawned a pair of scoring chances with each getting blocked away. The Eagles came back again with two more shots with Mercer and Daphne Daymude having open chances but both were saved to send the game to a second overtime period.
• Bridgewater once again dominated the offensive action in the final overtime period with a pair of quick shots in the early minutes to force saves from the Yellow Jackets. The home side was able to go the other way with a shot on cage by Anna Stribling that was kicked away at the 71:53 mark. Bridgewater responded with a pair of shots by Daymude that were saved that led to a shot from Flick that was saved. A pair of penalty corners by the Eagles resulted in Amberger shots on goal that were saved before the ball went the other way. The best chance of the final 20-minutes of overtime came as Moodie received a lengthy pass as Miller came out of her cage to make a sliding save as the game went to a shootout.
• Amora Marchand was the first to come out in the shootout and was not able to find the back of the cage. The same was true for McCoy for R-MC. The second round of the shootout went by without scores and Amberger started the third round without getting off a shot before the ball was blocked away and her eight second clock elapsed. Lynn Giesken came in with her team's third attempt and was able to find her way around Miller in goal for the first score of the shootout. Flick's attempt was also blocked away before Miller held off Stribling's attempt to win the game. Meredyth Rankin came in with the last opportunity for the Eagles but could not capitalize on her attempt as the Yellow Jackets survived for a 2-1 win.

MATCH STATS

• Tyler scored the lone goal of the game for the Eagles in the loss while Amberger tallied an assist.
• Flick led the Eagles with six shots and Daymude, Tyler and Amberger each had four shots apiece.
• Miller stood on her head in goal throughout the contest coming up with 11 saves on the 12 shots that she faced. Ambrogie-Torres was also stellar in the defensive battle as she stopped 14 shots in all 80 minutes and stonewalled the Eagles in the shootout, as well.
• BC outshot the home team 23-15 with a 15-12 edge in shots on frame. Each team earned eight penalty corners apiece.

UP NEXT
Bridgewater returns home on Saturday, Oct. 7, as it hosts Ferrum at the Jopson Athletic Complex beginning at 1 pm.