BANGOR, Maine – In a nail-biting field hockey match between the Husson University Eagles (3-12, 1-3 NAC) and the University of Maine at Farmington Beavers (2-13, 1-3 NAC), the Eagles came out on top with a hat trick by Sadie Royer, scoring her third goal in overtime to capture the North Atlantic Conference Quarterfinal victory, 3-2, at Winkin Complex on Halloween night. 

THE SCOOP:

Kicking off a huge offensive night for Royer, the senior sprinted down the field in the 13th minute of the match, weaving in and out of defenders to open up a clear shot sending the ball home for a 1-0 Husson lead. 

Nearly ten minutes later, off of a penalty corner from Torrie Nightingale, Andrea Stemm sent a shot flying towards net with teammate Kyla Sturtevant sticking out her stick to deflect the ball towards the opposite corner faking out Andrea Shaggy in net for Husson to even the score at ones. 

Barely two minutes ticked by on the clock before the Beavers struck again to take a 2-1 advantage in the 24th minute of the match. Once again A. Stemm fired a shot at Shaggy who stopped the first one, but A. Stemm was quick on the trigger to shoot another one. The ball ricocheted off the stick of teammate Emma Martineau hitting the back of the net for her sixth goal of the season.

Continuing to lead all Eagles in scoring, Royer recorded her second goal of the night and 15th goal of the season to tie the score with five minutes remaining in the first half. 

Despite several scoring opportunities for both teams in the second half, neither team could capitalize on net during the 35 minutes, resulting in a tied score of 2-2 at the end of regulation. 

Breaking through the defense not even three minutes into overtime, Allison Leighton split the defenders finding the stick of Royer. Facing Beavers' goalie Grace DiMarco one-on-one, Royer quickly slipped the ball past her all the way home to seize the 3-2 NAC Quarterfinal victory. 

BETWEEN THE POSTS:

In net for UMaine-Farmington, DiMarco grabbed two saves while her counterpart Shaggy stopped six shots. 

TEAM STATS:

The Beavers had more opportunities to score with eight shots on frame to the Eagles' five while also holding an advantage on the attack with penalty corners, 9-5.

UP NEXT!

With the win, NAC #2 Husson moves on to the NAC/NECC Semifinals to face NECC #1 New England College on Saturday, November 3rd at 1:30 pm, hosted by NEC.