EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette field hockey team capped off a 2-0 weekend at Rappolt Field with an upset, double-overtime victory over No. 25 Monmouth on Sunday afternoon. Senior captain Lisa van der Geest found sophomore Molly McAndrew for the golden goal with 3:45 to play in the second overtime for a 2-1 win.
 
Following a 4-0 victory in Patriot League play against Colgate on Saturday afternoon, the Leopards came out Sunday with an energy defying the grind of back-to-back contests. Extra sessions never fazed the Maroon and White as their fitness and persistence proved to be the difference in the first win for the program over a ranked team since 2016.
 
"I thought this was a really telling game for us. Monmouth is always a great opponent. They're always going to be well-coached, athletic, fit, and they're going to press heavy. Across the board, I know it sounds cliché, but it really was a team performance," head coach Jennifer Stone said. "The team adapted to a couple challenges we were faced with going into the day and played a hard-fought game against a really good opponent. It's nice when you can come out on top."
 
The Hawks opened the scoring just toward the end of the opening quarter, converting on a corner for the early 1-0 advantage. The visitors held that lead through the halftime break, but Lafayette had other ideas to open the second stanza.
 
Working down the left side, McAndrew beat a defender and fired a shot on goal that was initially kicked aside by Monmouth goalie Anna Unger. Senior Cameron Costello was in position for the rebound, though, poking the ball through a scrum and inside the right post to even it up at 1-1.
 
Defenses took over for the remainder of regulation and through the first overtime session as the game remained at 1-1 into a second extra frame. Senior goalie Sarah Park saved the game for the Leopards on a number of occasions in overtime, stopping a point-blank attempt just over a minute in and later thwarting a 2v1 chance with a diving tackle to poke the ball away.
 
Finally, after coming up empty on a pair of corner chances in the second extra frame, senior Caroline Turnbull, van der Geest and McAndrew finished it off.
 
"It was my debut at center forward today. Jennifer asked me right before the second overtime, 'center striker, is that a really weird idea?' and I was like, 'honestly, no, I really like it," van der Geest reflected. "I knew Caroline [Turnbull] was looking for a 2v1, the pass came, I was waiting to see if the defender would step to me or not, Molly was coming in full speed and I knew she wanted it, so the closer the defender got to me, I knew I had to one-time it to her, and Molly had a great finish."
 
The win moves the Maroon and White back to .500 on the year at 5-5 overall, sitting at 2-0 in Patriot League play. Monmouth falls to 5-4 this season in defeat.
 
Park finished the afternoon with three saves, while junior Audrey Sawers added a defensive save to hold the Hawks to just one goal, a team that averages 3.38 goals per contest. Costello's score was her first of the season and second of her career, scoring once in 2016, her rookie campaign. McAndrew has now caged four goals this season with an assist to lead the team offensively with nine points.
 
"Structure and discipline have been a big part of our defensive success," Stone added. "We've played some pretty tough opponents early on in the season and I think scheduling helps that, having us prepared for all elements of attack and varying levels of teams. We have two first-year faces back there in Sydney [Woolston] and Simone [Hefting] and obviously two veteran seniors with Lisa [van der Geest] at center back and Sarah [Park] holding down in goal; she was fantastic today. When you have skill and leadership combined with a plan, we've been on the successful end a lot of the time. I'm proud of the group."
 
Lafayette carries the momentum of four wins in its last five to another back-to-back coming up next weekend. The Leopards travel to Boston U. on Saturday for a 2018 Patriot League semifinal rematch at 12 p.m. and follow that up with a meeting with Bryant on Sunday, also at 12 p.m.