Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Field Hockey team put together a hard-fought effort, but fell to Bloomsburg University 2-1, following penalty strokes at the conclusion of eighty minutes of hockey at Spartan Field on Sunday afternoon. Sofia Corominas Cuen scored the lone goal of the contest for STAC, while goalkeeper Jessie Hohenstein had three saves.
Bloomsburg improves to 3-3 on the season, while STAC slips to 2-2 overall.
A tremendous first three quarters of action, saw the Spartans and Huskies battle for every inch of time and space on the field, with several high-caliber chances for both sides. However, neither squad could solve the other's netminder and scoreboard would read all zeroes through 45 minutes of action in Sparkill.
The visitors from the Keystone State struck first, when Bloomsburg was awarded a penalty stroke by the officiating crew, early in the fourth quarter. Meg Barnard would face STAC keeper Jessie Hohenstein, one-on-one, and convert on her oppportunity to make it 1-0.
Helter-skelter action would ensue for the final ten plus minutes of regulation, as St. Thomas Aquinas would throw everything but the kitchen sink at the Huskies in the hopes of knotting the game at 1-1. Hard work and good fortune paid off for STAC in the last two minutes, when off of a penalty corner by Floortje Beune, teammate Sofia Corominas Cuen received the insert pass and fired a rocket of a shot toward the net, beating BU goalie Abby Shaffer to tie the game and force overtime.
In the extra session, the sides played seven on seven and the Spartans looked to score the game-winning goal, but despite a 6-2 shots advantage and playing a man-up in overtime due to a Bloomsburg yellow card, the match remained deadlocked after 20 additional minutes and had to be decided in a penalty shootout.
Once the shootout got underway, STAC shot first and Sam Van Der Valk converted on her try to make it 1-0. Bloomsburg then evened things at 1-1 as Carlee Williams beat Hohenstein. After Corominas Cuen was stopped on her attempt for the maroon and gold, Benard put one to the back of the net to make it 2-1 BU. A miss by Nicola Van Vuuren and tally by Bri Doebler made it 3-1, with Kelly Johnson needing to score to keep the game going for the Spartans. Johnson would fail to convert, giving Bloomsburg a 2-1 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Sofia Corominas Cuen's game-tying tally is the second goal of her STAC career.
- Jessie Hohenstein (L, 3-3) made three stops on four shots faced in regulation and overtime.
- STAC outshot Bloomsburg 12-10, but the Huskies held a 6-4 advantage in penalty corners over the Spartans.
- Jasmijn Van Drunen recorded a team-high four shots for the Spartans in the match.
Up Next
St. Thomas Aquinas will regroup and prepare for its next opponent, Millersville University. The Marauders pay a visit to Sparkill on Saturday, September 24 for an 11:00 a.m. tilt at Spartan Field.