CLAYMONT – Sixty minutes was not enough to determine a winner in the field hockey clash Sept. 18 between Archmere and visiting Wilmington Charter. But it took less than four minutes of a scheduled 15-minute overtime session for the Force’s Sophia Gulotti to come up with loose ball in the Auks’ crease and give her team the 2-1 victory.
The game had lots of end-to-end action from the jump, but neither team was able to muster many opportunities. Penalty corners went unrewarded thanks to the stellar defense from both schools. In fact, it was defense that led to the first goal.
Charter was able to knock down an Auks outlet pass. Alex Kelleher took the ball in to the left of Archmere keeper Maura Smeader, and her crossing pass was tapped in by Sarah Rossi with 6:04 left in the half.
That goal held up for nearly 16 minutes. Archmere, ranked fourth in Division II by 302Sports.com, fought off three Force penalty corners in a span of 71 seconds, then managed to get some offense of its own going. The Auks earned a corner with a bit over 21 minutes to go in regulation, and they converted. A shot bounced between the legs of Charter keeper Gabby Simmons, and Meghan Reilly had a wide-open cage in front of her. The score was tied with 20:39 to go.
The offensive chances were limited over the final 20 minutes, although both teams came close. Smeader kept the game knotted with a kick save at the 7:40 mark, and Archmere could not get anything past Simmons during two extended possessions in the final minutes.
Gulotti brought the contest to its conclusion with 11:05 to go in overtime, coming up with the ball during a scramble in the Auks’ crease. Rachel Watt was credited with the assist.
Charter finished with 11 shots to Archmere’s six, and the Force had more penalty corners, 7-4. The Force improved to 2-0 and will host Appoquinimink on Friday at 3:45 p.m.
Archmere (1-2) will play Padua on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. at Forbes Field. It will be the Pandas’ first match of the season; they are one of just two teams in the state that has yet to play.
