Taylor Bednar, Dickinson
The Dickinson field hockey team erased a 3-0 deficit and overcame some challenges to survive a thrilling double-overtime win over Haverford in the opening round of the Centennial Conference playoffs on Wednesday.
The Red Devils rallied to tie the game and force overtime before junior Taylor Bednar (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) tallied the game-winner on a fast-break in the second extra frame to send the Red Devils to the semifinals on Saturday.
The 'Fords struck first in the 11th minute, capitalizing on a penalty corner. Stephanie Terrell finished with assists from Nicole Witte and insert Casey Wakai to take a 1-0 lead.
Elena Veale tallied back-to-back goals to stretch the lead to 3-0, with just 2:14 remaining in the first half.
The Red Devils answered with less than a minute to play in the first as junior Chelsea Kramer (New Vernon, N.J./Morristown Beard) collected her own rebound and found the back of the cage with just 59 seconds on the clock.
The Red Devils still had some work to do, facing a 3-1 deficit as they headed into the second half. They received a big spark off the bench as sophomore Julia Murphy (Greenwood Village, Colo./Colorado Academy) made a great move on a fast-break to punch the ball in and cut the lead to 3-2, with 22:03 remaining in regulation.
The Red Devils would pull even, off the stick of Lily Mott (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) as she finished an assist from Bednar with just under nine minutes to play.
First-year goalkeeper Heather Meeder (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) came on in the second half to make some amazing saves. She stopped four shots in regulation and added a pair of saves in the second overtime.
Kim Monteferante (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Lakeland) anchored the Red Devil defense with another solid performance. The Devils also received strong play from senior Merritt Davis (Baltimore, Md./Garrison Forest) and first-year Jillian Beemon (Ann Arbor, Mich./Skyline) on the back line. Meeder finished with six saves on the day.
The Red Devils improve to 12-6 overall, posting their second straight overtime win in the first round of the playoffs, repeating the performance last season in Muhlenberg.
The #4-seeded Red Devils now travel to top-seed and #6-ranked Ursinus College for the conference semifinals on Saturday. They will play in the first semifinal in Collegeville with a 12:00 start.