Home Local Sports Maggie Lober’s last-minute OT goal lifts Ursuline field hockey

Maggie Lober’s last-minute OT goal lifts Ursuline field hockey

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Maggie Lober of Ursuline prepares to send the game-winning shot into the cage at Saint Mark's. She took a pass from Juliana Copeman, who is watching the play unfold. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)

MILLTOWN – All it took for Ursuline and Saint Mark’s to open up the offense in their field hockey matchup on Sept. 25 was fewer players on the field and a 15-minute time limit. The Raiders took advantage of the extra space, with Maggie Lober scoring late in overtime to give Ursuline a 1-0 win.

Lober teamed with Juliana Copeman to produce the winning goal with just 30 seconds left in the extra session. It was the culmination of repeated forays toward Saint Mark’s goalkeeper Abigail McIlvain, who until that lone goal had been impenetrable.

Ursuline celebrates its 1-0 field hockey win over Saint Mark’s on Wednesday. The Raiders scored with 30 seconds remaining. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)

The winning play started with a steal by Copeman, who dribbled through more than one defender until she ended up all alone as she approached McIlvain. Copeman saw Lober coming down the left side and delivered a pass right on the money. Lober’s shot went short side into the back of the cage.

That goal followed a scoreless 60 minutes of regulation, the teams headed to the extra session. Ursuline, which ended the second half and began overtime with a six-on-five player advantage, found an extra gear for its offense almost from the jump.

Abigail McIlvain, the Spartans’ sophomore goalkeeper, kept the game going with a save early on, then kept her eye on the ball through a flurry of activity in the crease in front of her. Lober intercepted a pass and went in for a shot soon after, but McIlvain was equal. Another shot, this one from Copeman, went off the side of the cage as the Raiders’ advantage neared its conclusion.

Copeman tried again about four and half minutes into the OT. An Ursuline penalty corner ended up on her stick, and her reverse shot was stopped. Two more corners resulted in another save on Copeman and a shot rolling wide and out of play.

The Spartans finally found some offense in the final six minutes of overtime. Ursuline keeper Samantha Hurd came up with two big saves, the second on a shot by Lindsay Sawyer. A penalty corner – the lone one for Saint Mark’s in the extra period – was not converted.

Final statistics were not available late Wednesday night, but Ursuline had a decided advantage in penalty corners. Shots were hard to come by for both teams. The Raiders (3-3) bounced back from an overtime loss of their own to William Penn on Monday. Next up for them is a trip to Hockessin Montessori School on Tuesday to meet St. Elizabeth at 3:45 p.m.

The Spartans fell to 4-2. They also play next at Hockessin Montessori against St. Elizabeth. That one is on Friday at 3:45 p.m.