Dan Sherman
Asst. SID
Juniata
814-641-3513
Elizabethtown, Pa., Juniata field hockey advances to the Landmark Conference Championship game on a double overtime golden goal scored by junior Sarah Bilheimer (Bethlehem, PA / Freedom). Huntingdon's own "Cardiac Kids" went into overtime for the seventh time this season, but was able to come out on top in sudden death play, defeating Elizabethtown 2-1, to face the winner of Scranton vs. Catholic for the conference title on Saturday.
Earlier in the season, the Blue Jay snapped Juniata's eight-game winning streak, handing them their first conference loss of the season in a 1-0 heartbreaker at Knox Stadium. The Eagles seemed to have scored the tying goal in the game, but it was called off as Juniata was awarded a penalty stroke. The Blue and Gold entered today's game with a chip on their shoulder, knowing that had they beaten Elizabethtown during the regular season, they would have been hosting a tournament game.
The Eagles "came out on fire", in the words of head coach Caroline Gillich, "ready to play a tournament game." Juniata put the pressure on Elizabethtown early, as junior forward Allison Groft (Hanover, PA / South Western) scored the first goal of the game off of an assist from Bilheimer. Freshman Katie Alexander (Mifflinburg, PA / Mifflinburg) came down the right sideline and passed to the junior, who quickly crossed to Groft. The play was, "exactly how we drew it up, absolutely gorgeous", said Gillich.
Once again, the defense was strong for the Eagles. Senior Tori Buser (Allentown, PA / Parkland) had a defensive save for the second game in a row, bringing her career total to 12. Senior Keeper Julianne Jones (Middleburg, PA / Midd-West) made five saves and again kept her team in the game long enough for the Eagles to come out on top in overtime.
As in Sunday's game against Catholic, senior Kortney Showers (Aspers, PA / Biglerville) assisted Bilheimer on the golden goal as the team walked-off on an opponent for the fourth time this season. Selene Jones came out of the Blue Jay cage came out to meet Bilheimer, who scored on a no-look, backhanded flip. The ball sailed over the six-foot keeper and into the cage to send the Eagles into the Championship game for the first time since 2011. Gillich described the goal as, "completely unscripted from Sarah's creativity and seeing what was available, It was a high loft over the keeper. I don't know if I've ever seen her do that before." Her team played a tough, hard fought battle and once again proved their resiliency. This is a strong team that refuses to give up and laughs in the face of danger. After the game, Gillich stated that, "this is one of the toughest JCFH teams that we have had in a long time. They keep coming back again and again. I could not be more proud of them. We're really looking forward to going down and playing Catholic again on Saturday."
The Cardinals defeated Scranton in the other semifinal game to clinch home field advantage in the championship game. Catholic entered the tournament as the number one seed, with their only conference loss of the season coming on Sunday against the Eagles.The Eagles have won four of their titles at Catholic and are looking to add another. The last time Juniata defeated the Cardinals in D.C. for a Landmark title was 2010. Catholic is currently ranked 7th in the nation and will once again prove to be a worthy adversary. The championship game will feature the top two goalkeepers in the Landmark, and two of the finest in all of Division III. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
