LYNCHBURG, Va. --- University of Lynchburg's field hockey season came to a heartbreaking end Wednesday with a 3-2 overtime defeat at the hands of Salisbury in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Sea Gulls' Molly Reardon took the ball into the circle and scored into the left side of the cage, the thud on the plywood bringing a stark end to the Hornets' national title hopes.
Lynchburg jumped out to an early lead. The Hornets withstood an opening flurry from SU before settling into offensive pressure, and in the 12th minute, sophomore Brooke Hyland got on the end of a Jackie Lerro pass and shoveled it into the cage for a 1-0 home team advantage.
Lynchburg held the lead through the first quarter's end and well into the second before Salisbury got on the board. Shortly after a penalty corner, SU captain McKenzie Mitchell beat the defense around the right side and scored to even the tally.
It didn't last long. Lynchburg earned a corner of its own in the final minute of the first half, and some swift passing from inserter Emma Strouse to Lerro to Emily Dudley created chaos in the arc. Dudley's rocket of a shot was on frame, and junior Emily Yanes got a stick on it to deflect the ball into the goal for a 2-1 Hornet lead at the half.
Lynchburg's defense held in the third -- Salisbury took six shots in the quarter, but Kayla Brady made all four saves for the Hornets -- but the Sea Gulls broke through early in the fourth. SU earned a breakaway opportunity, and Allie Davis found Reardon on the left side of the cage to even the score.
The Hornets earned a pair of corners in the fourth but couldn't capitalize on either, and the game went to overtime knotted at 2-2.
SU got possession at the start of OT and never relinquished, Reardon scoring just 1:14 into the sudden-victory period to send the Sea Gulls into the second round. Salisbury will travel to Johns Hopkins Saturday to continue tournament play.
Lynchburg finishes the season with a 14-8 record and just the second NCAA at-large berth in the program's history (18th overall). The Hornets earned one of just seven at-large bids, thanks in large part to one of the most challenging schedules in Division III.
"We make sure that we're one of the top teams in the country. We play a tough schedule to get ourselves ready for this," head coach Enza Steele said afterward.
The Hornets also battled the injury bug late in the season. First-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference midfielder Kessa Romero went down to injury in mid-October, and third-team All-ODAC defender Ryleigh Cameron was injured in the conference championship loss to Washington and Lee Saturday evening. Neither could return to compete Wednesday, and the Hornets' coaching staff had to shuffle players around positions to cover the holes.
"You can't prepare for injury. You can't prepare for the unknown. I think that's the saddest part of our game," Steele said, but the coach quickly added that her team in uniform played their hearts out.
"Regardless of that, we left it all out on the field," she said.
The loss brought an end to Lerro's career, her two assists Wednesday moving her to 249 career points, tying her for 10th in NCAA Division III history in the category. Her 99 career goals are 12th in the Division's history.
--- This release is courtesy of the University of Lynchburg sports information department. ---
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