DOVER, Del. –Bryn Bissey's overtime goal kept Haverford College's field hockey team undefeated as it earned a hard-fought, 3-2, road victory Tuesday night against host Wesley College at Scott D. Miller Stadium.
The 15th-ranked Fords (3-0) trailed for the first time this season after Wesley (2-3) opened the scoring early in the first half then carried its lead into halftime. Bissey evened the score in the 55th minute taking a feed from Mary Hobbs who had corralled a loose ball in front of the Wolverine goal.
Wesley converted a penalty stroke less than a minute later to regain the lead but the Fords' Jen DiMaria notched her first goal of the year to knot things at 2-2 with five minutes to play in regulation.
Haverford withstood a barrage from the Wolverine's early in the OT period as Sarah Waldis came up with a game-saving defensive save and goalkeeper Lindsey Lopes -- a freshman playing in her first collegiate game -- stopped the next two Wesley shots. Two more shots were blocked and went wide, respectively, before the Fords could escape their defensive zone.
The rest for the defense didn't last long, though, as Wesley raced right back into their offensive zone following a Hobbs shot which had been saved by Wolverine goalie Sarah Daniels. Madison Leone's shot was blocked by a Haverford defender and eventually resulted in a counter-attack for the Fords in which Bissey and Hobbs streaked downfield with a two-on-one breakaway.
Bissey's second goal of the game, and third of the year, ended the nail-biter in the sixth minute of the extra period with Hobbs picking up her second assist of the game.
Lopes earned the win registering 10 saves in her first outing while Daniels, also making her first start, took the loss after stopping 12 Haverford shots.
The Fords return home for their next game, a Saturday, Sept. 15 noontime affair at Swan Field against Dickinson College which will open the Centennial Conference slate for both teams.