Field Hockey: Palmyra Overcomes Late Deficit, Wins in OT to Advance to State Semis

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After earning a 2-1 victory over Crestwood to start their State Championship journey, the Palmyra Lady Cougars were back in action at Coatesville on Saturday. They arrived at the neutral site for a Quarterfinal matchup against Mount Saint Joseph Academy, the 2A runner-up out of District 1. The all-female Flourtown-based private school, which carries an annual tuition just north of $25,000, defeated Cardinal O’Hara in the first round by a score of 12-0.

The first goal of the matchup between the Lady Cougars and the Magic came at the end of the 1st quarter when Mount Saint Joseph’s Tess Hankins found the back of the cage. The Magic would hold onto the 1-0 lead all the way until halftime.

Halfway through the 3rd quarter, Hankins struck again to put the game at 2-0. The rest of the quarter would be without any more scoring, meaning that Palmyra would be facing a two goal deficit with one quarter left to play.

With the clock reading 6:44 left in regulation, Palmyra was awarded a corner. From there, senior Mallory Hudson converted on an assist from Maddie Stahl to cut the Magic lead in half. As time continued to slip away, it looked like the comeback would fall short. However, with about a minute remaining, Palmyra was awarded another one of their eleven corners in the game. Hudson once again successfully beat Mount Saint Joseph’s Kathryn Pedicino to tie the game with just 32 left in the game. On her game-tying goal, Hudson was assisted by Leigha Kane.

After the furious comeback, the 4th quarter ended with the scoreboard reading 2-2, and the two teams headed to overtime. Once in the “golden goal” extra period, it was the freshman Stahl who came up with the winning goal for Palmyra to end the game in dramatic fashion.

In the game, Palmyra’s Abby Bennett made 6 saves. Bree Aughenbaugh also made a defensive save. Palmyra outshot Mount Saint Joseph, 12-9, and was awarded 11 corners to the 2 corners taken by the Magic.

The exciting victory sends Palmyra into the PIAA State Championship Semifinals, where they will once again play Warwick. The two teams met in the District 3 Semifinals, a game that was won 3-1 by the Warriors on their way to the District Championship.

The State Semifinal will take place on Tuesday at 5:00 pm at Central Dauphin Middle School, a neutral location. The winner will move on to play in the State Championship game at Cumberland Valley on Saturday. Kennett and Northern York are the other two remaining teams in 2A.