HARROGATE, Tenn. - On the first half of a back-to-back for the Lander Field Hockey team the Bearcats found themselves in an overtime affair with the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters but an Iris Van Der Does (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) penalty stroke just over three minutes into the first overtime period snapped Lander's two-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory.
The win, Lander's sixth in sixth tries over their fellow third-year program, moved Lander to 5-4 overall and 5-2 in league play. Meanwhile, the Railsplitters are still looking for their first win as they dropped to 0-8 overall and in SAC competition.
Both teams were held scoreless for the first three periods but Lander had the majority of the offense as they outshot LMU 6-1 in the first 45 minutes. However, Lander was denied on three separate occasions by the Railsplitters' keeper to maintain the zeros on the scoreboard.
Lander found their breakthrough in the fourth quarter off the stick of Van Der Does, giving the Bearcats a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived, as LMU tied the game less than a minute later.
Dusty-Rose Miller (Crisfield, Md.) almost found the winner in regulation but was denied by a defensive save to preserve the tie and send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Van Der Does forced a turnover deep in the Railsplitter zone, was taken down trying to retrieve the ball in the shooting circle, and was awarded a penalty stroke to win the game potentially.
The Dutch Freshman stepped up and deposited the shot on the left side of the goal just below a diving Ana Carney to give Lander the win.
The Bearcats have a quick turnaround as they will face the Maryville Saints tomorrow at 1:00 PM in Harrogate. This will be the second-ever matchup between the two sides with Lander taking the first matchup in their inaugural 2022 season by a score of 5-0.
