Saturday, Sept. 9, at Ira R. Herr Field, the Elizabethtown College Blue Jays battled the Gettysburg College Bullets in a tough game ending in a scoreless tie.
The 110 minute match went into double overtime, with 15 unsuccessful shots from both teams. Senior Hailey Parks, goalie for the Blue Jays, had six saves and first-year Kerry Sammon, the Bullets’ keeper, had seven.
In the first half, Gettysburg had the edge when it came to shots on goal with a 4-3 lead, but Parks had an impressive game and held the net.
While the game started off slow, “we eventually had the right energy and momentum. It became a hard-fought battle against Gettysburg, which is a very good team,” Parks said.
She, along with senior Maria Boretti, center-back moved to center-middle, played hard and kept the Bullets scoreless. Boretti sprained her MCL early on in the game, but continued to play through the pain to aid her team.
This was an intense game of back and forth, especially nearing the end of regular time. In the 89th minute, Parks saved a shot by Caroline Kostecky and, instantly, Etown first-year Janelle Barna had a blocked attempt.
“Both [goalies] made saves that kept their teams in it and kept it at a deadlock for 110 minutes” head coach Amy Hough said.
The fast-paced game kept over 100 fans cheering in excitement and sighing in frustration, both for the Blue Jays and the Bullets.
The first overtime included the only caution or ejection during the game. In the 98th minute, sophomore Natalie Nye received a yellow card, but she stayed in the game to fiercely defend the shutout.
First-year team manager Keri Edwards enjoys her time on the team and spoke highly of every player.
“Everyone who came out on that field, whether it was five minutes or 110, contributed so much,” she said. Parks agreed saying, “Even if people did not start, they brought a lot of energy off the bench and onto the field.”
The Blue Jays fought hard and greatly improved from previous games against the Bullets.
Last year, Etown lost to Gettysburg 1-0, but this year the Blue Jays held the shutout into double overtime. This is a difficult task, especially toward the end of the second overtime when teams tend to lose steam. Both Parks and Edwards agreed that the team never lost their intensity, which kept the Bullets from scoring.
While the team recognized they need to work on following through and getting the ball in the net, the Blue Jays held a strong defense throughout the game.
Tuesday, the women defeated Ursinus College on Ira. R. Herr Field 2-1 in overtime. Junior Katrina Morales was a standout player with 5 shots and the winning goal in the 93rd minute of the game. First-year Janella Barna had two shots and scored the other goal for Etown.
The Blue Jays will be back on the road Saturday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. looking to extend their win streak with a victory over Lebanon Valley College.
