The James Madison field hockey team pulled out a thrilling to 2-1 victory in double overtime against Richmond Sunday afternoon at the JMU Field Hockey Complex to move to 3-0 on the year and drop the Spiders to 2-2 overall.
Following a corner shot by junior back Loes Stijntjes (Steenokkerzeel, Belgium/Helig Hartcollege) that was saved by Richmond goalkeeper Kelley Wentling, junior midfielder Adrienne le Vatte (Port Elizabeth, South Africa/Alexander Road) slotted home the rebound with no time remaining in regulation to tie the game at 1-1 and send it into sudden-victory overtime.
Both defenses held strong in the first overtime period, sending the game in to a second overtime. A little more than eight minutes into the period, Stijntjes was issued a yellow card and forced the Dukes to play a man down for the next five minutes.
The Dukes managed the penalty time well and, with the game still in a stalemate, Stijntjes rushed back onto the field with less than two minutes remaining in the second overtime. Gathering a loose ball, she fired from the left side of the circle to score the game-winning goal and preserve JMU’s undefeated start to the season.
Senior goalkeeper Hannah George (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) earned the victory (3-0) after committing seven saves and allowing just one goal. Wentling suffered the loss (2-2), making five saves and allowing two goals.
JMU and Richmond went into halftime with a scoreless tie, though Richmond held a 6-3 advantage in shots and a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Spiders’ Kimberly Sportack scored in the 59th minute of play when she picked up a rebound from a save by George.
Overall, Richmond edged JMU in shots 14-3, including an 8-7 advantage in shots on goal. The Dukes, however, earned six corners to the Spiders’ five, including the corner that led to the game-tying goal in regulation.
The Dukes begin a two-game road swing at Appalachian State on Friday, Sept. 12. Play gets underway at 3 p.m. in Boone, N.C.
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Chris Graham
