BELMONT, N.C. - The Lander Field Hockey team trailed 1-0 going into the final minute against the Belmont Abbey Crusaders but a goal by Victoria Hulst (Maarssen, Netherlands) with under a minute left sent the game to overtime where Lauren Punt (Maasdam, Netherlands) ended the game with just over 30 seconds to go in the first extra period to give Lander the 2-1 win on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
The win was head coach Robbert Schenk's 25th at the head role for the Bearcats in the team's 41st game as a program.
Lander (3-2) adds to their perfect start in South Atlantic Conference play as they now sit at 3-0 in the league. Belmont Abbey dropped their sixth straight and is still searching for their first win at 0-6, 0-4 in SAC play.
Belmont Abbey got on the board just over ten minutes in as they peppered the Lander goal with three straight shots, the third of which found the back of the cage to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
From there both defenses held strong as there were only five total shots in the second and third quarter and the score remained in Belmont Abbey's favor heading into the last regulation frame.
Lander got three shots in the final frame and they from Hulst on penalty corners with under five minutes to go. The third penalty corner was finally converted as Hulst laced a shot from the top of the shooting circle to tie the game at one and send it to overtime.
Belmont Abbey came close to ending the game early in overtime but Avery Tworkoski (Bernville, Pa.), who earned her second straight win, was there to deny the Crusaders and keep the game going. But after a flurry of shots in the first couple of minutes from Belmont Abbey, the Lander defense held them without a shot the rest of the period.
Then, with just under a minute to go, Punt had back-to-back shots saved but would not be denied for a third time as she got it past the Crusader keeper and gave Lander the win.
The Bearcats stay in conference action as they return home on Tuesday (Sept. 24th) to face the Coker Cobras at Frank Hill Stadium. That game is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start.
