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The field hockey team fought hard until the end on Thursday night, ultimately being eliminated by the WJ Wildcats 3–2 in their first playoff game.
Just five minutes into the game, midfielder Rachel Berman capitalized off a penalty shot, slamming the ball into the upper left of the goal to give the Vikes a 1–0 lead.
WJ had multiple scoring chances on the counterattack where they got the ball past goalie Cami Stenger. Fortunately for the Vikes, defender Olivia Smith made two impressive clears to preserve the lead.
WJ kept up their attack until, with 21 minutes to go, the referee awarded a penalty shot. Stenger stuffed the shot, but the ball bounced off her stick and rolled into the goal, tying the game at 1–1.
With seven and half minutes to go, WJ got a breakaway opportunity, running with the ball down the Vikes sideline. Defender Hayley Segall and Stenger were there to halt the attack, and combined to make back-to-back great clears to keep the ball out of the zone.
The Vikes couldn’t completely fend off the Wildcat attack, though, and with 6 minutes to go WJ scored to take a 2–1 lead going into halftime.
Whitman came firing out of the gate in the second half, with forward Zara Memon nailing a game-tying goal just 30 seconds in.
The teams traded opportunities back and forth for the next few minutes, both pushing to take the lead. With 25 minutes to go, defender Elizabeth Holden stopped a key Wildcat breakaway to keep the Vikes in the game.
With 23 minutes to go in the game, WJ had the ball in the Vikes corner, and crossed it to the center of the goal. Stenger and the defense did not react in time, and WJ took a 3–2 lead.
Whitman kept up their offensive intensity in hopes of an equalizing goal—forward Elsa Bjornlund narrowly missed the net with 20 minutes to go.
Forward Rose Pagano and midfielder Aya Gandolfo also had opportunities to score late in the game, but the Wildcat defense prevailed, holding on to secure the 3–2 victory.
The team refused to give up hope throughout the game, never giving up until the final whistle blew.
“We beat them in the regular season, and although it wasn’t easy, we thought we had this game as well,” Holden said. “There were times in the game, especially at the end, where we really thought that we could win.”
