MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The No. 15 TCNJ field hockey were narrowly defeated by No. 9 Trinity, 2-1, to close out the 2022 season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon.
With their season on the line and the clock winding down, the Lions (13-7) generated a barrage of five total penalty corners in the final minute of the game. Despite generating multiple quality shot attempts, the defense of the Bantams (15-4) held on after multiple great saves were made from goalie Olivia McMichael. The final opportunity for TCNJ came with the clock already expired, as the Lions were gifted with one last short corner to score the equalizer. However, the ball fell short of Trinity's cage and the season officially came to a close for the blue and gold.
The late push by the Lions were aided by three Bantams players being hit with combination of green and yellow cards all in the final three minutes of the match.
Trinity struck first 5:52 minutes into the match. After Lions goalie
Dani Britton kicked an initial shot from a Bantam attacker, the ball managed to still trickle towards the cage and was slipped in by Katrina Winfield before Lions Freshman Heather Kimak could deflect it out.
TCNJ would tie the game a quarter later on a penalty corner, when Rayhanah Ahmed connected with
Sophie Popp on a shot that sneaked right past a scrum of Trinity defenders. The assist marked Ahmed's ninth on the season, and her 29th point scored overall. Popp's goal was her eighth, tying her for third-best on the team. The super senior finished her season with a career-high 17 points.
The Bantams retook the lead early in the second half on a high-lofted shot by Izzy Deveney that flew over Britton's head and into the cage. The score was assisted by Maeve Hymovitz.
Trinity attempted to give themselves an insurance goal throughout the quarter, outshooting TCNJ 11-4 and being on the offensive with a flurry of shots. However, a superb group effort from Britton and the Lions backline kept the deficit to only a single goal entering the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Lions outshoot the Bantams 10-0 and holding a 7-0 edge in Penalty corners, as TCNJ attempted to break through a Trinity defense that had clearly committed to holding the lead by packing the shooting circle the entire quarter.
For the Lions, Britton finished with ten saves. Ahmed and senior Jess Hatch each saw five shots hit on target.
