Costantini's Overtime Game-Winner Leads Field Hockey to 4-3 Win Over Saint Michael's on Senior Day
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Oct. 11, 2015) – Led by a game-winning goal in overtime from freshman Alana Costantini (Rocky Point, N.Y./Rocky Point) and 16 saves from freshman goalkeeper Julia Amell (Greene, N.Y./Greene), the Mercy College field hockey team set a new school record for wins in a season and celebrated Senior Day with a 4-3 triumph over Saint Michael's College on Sunday afternoon at Mercy Field.
In a ceremony prior to the game, head coach Kayte Kinsley and the Mercy athletic department recognized the careers of seniors Maggie Gardner (Mohawk, N.Y./Mohawk) and Giana Magosin (Atlantic City, N.J./Egg Harbor Township).
The Mavericks (6-5) improve to 4-2 in one-goal games and surpass the previous school record for wins set by the 2013 team, while the Purple Knights (4-7) have dropped three in a row.
Also scoring for Mercy were junior Randi Zorn (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst), freshman Alicia Williams (Lake Grove, N.Y./Sachem North) and sophomore Kimberly Sands (Bethel, Conn./Immaculate), while Williams, Zorn, Magosin and junior Vanessa Soler (Port Monmouth, N.J./Middletown North) added assists.
Saint Michael's received goals from Megan Deschaine, Jackie Matthews and Abby Dusha, while goalkeeper Abigail Bowie made four saves in a losing effort.
Despite being outshot 27-10 by the visitors on the day, the Mavericks were able to come away with the Senior Day win as they made the most of their eight shots on goal.
The Mercy defense also held strong against a Purple Knights squad that finished with a 16-6 edge in penalty corners as Amell stepped up and made 12 saves over the course of the second half and overtime to help give the Mavericks a record-setting win.
Saint Michael's came out firing right from the start, but Amell set the tone with a save at the 1:20 mark to keep the game scoreless. Mercy took advantage of their first penalty corner of the day in the 5th minute as Williams crossed one over to Zorn who tapped it in after Magosin had taken the corner just seconds earlier, giving the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short lived as Deschaine connected on a penalty stroke goal in the 9th minute to make it 1-1. The Purple Knights continued to apply pressure to the Mercy defense, but the Mavericks held their own and retook the lead a minute before halftime as Williams scored her second of the year off a pass from Soler to make it 2-1. Saint Michael's responded and looked to have the game-tying goal scored at the halftime buzzer, but the referee waived the goal off and the Mavericks headed into halftime up 2-1.
The Purple Knights came out of the break re-energized and forced Amell to make four saves in the first ten minutes but could not even the game up. Mercy took advantage of Saint Michael's inability to finish in the 50th minute as Sands took a shot off a Magosin penalty corner to give the Mavericks a 3-1 advantage.
Saint Michael's came right back with two goals in a matter of 13 minutes to even the game up at 3-3 in the 63rd minute and the teams would need extra time to decide a winner.
The overtime period saw the Purple Knights come out with the first three shots of the frame, but Amell stopped all three of them to keep the game tied at 3-3. The Mavericks came back with a shot of their own before Costantini took a penalty corner and on the ensuing play Zorn fed her a cross and the freshman slid one past the goalkeeper to give Mercy another dramatic win in overtime.
Kinsley and the Mavericks will look to win their third straight as they travel to Adelphi on Thursday, October 15th for a 4 p.m. start time.
