HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Junior Emma Dahmus (Hummelstwn, Pa./Lower Dauphin) picked up her first collegiate hat trick to help lead the Juniata field hockey team to a 5-4 double overtime win against Landmark Conference rival Drew University Saturday afternoon. The Eagles (7-9, 2-3 Landmark) handed Drew (11-4, 4-1) its first conference loss of the season.
"Today, we definitely came together in one of our best team games," said Juniata Head Coach Caroline Gillich. "We were able to put the ball in the goal over and over, which is always a fabulous thing to do."
Senior Janelle Howard (Mechanisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) stopped a game-high 13 shots after spending a full 90:05 in goal.
The Eagles struck first in the 16th minute. Dahmus found freshman Steph Pagliaro (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) in front of the cage to give Juniata a 1-0 lead. Dahmus would extend the lead to two on an unassisted goal at 28:45.
Drew made the most of a corner earned as time expired in the first half. Sami Calabrese got her team on the board off a pass from Sarah Charles.
Dahmus scored the second goal of her trifecta in the 55th minute before the Rangers responded with two goals of their own. Exactly two minutes after Drew tied the score at 3-all, freshman Sara Bilheimer (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) found Dahmus off a corner for her final goal of the game to give Juniata the 4-3 lead.
"Emma had a big day for us," said Gillich. "She's really coming on strong as a scoring attacker."
Dahmus currently leads the team in goals with eight. She finished the game with seven points.
But just like the end of the first half, Drew earned a corner as time in regulation expired and scored to send the game into overtime. The Eagles survived six Drew overtime shots before Bilheimer scored the game winner.
"Sara is exceptional time and time again," added Gillich. "For her to be able to put it in is quite a capstone for this freshman."
Juniata competes against Dickinson College next on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Knox Stadium. They will need to finish out the season with wins if they are going to have a chance at making the Landmark Conference Tournament.
"We are hoping that things work out in our favor," Gillich said. "We won this game. We need to win one more, and hope that everything else pans out in the conference, so that we do get a chance to make our way into that top four."
Last season the ladies fell 3-2 in penalty strokes to the Red Devils. The field hockey team has been competing with Dickinson since 1973. Despite holding a 13-17-2 all-time record against Dickinson, the Eagles have owned the recent series, outscoring the Red Devils 9-6 in the past four years.
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