After suffering a loss to Southern Connecticut State University on Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Chargers hosted the fourth-ranked team in the Northeast-10 conference, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) on Saturday. Despite entering the game as underdogs, New Haven fought hard for the 4-2 upset over SNHU. The victory was nothing short of a team effort with every player giving it their all.
At the start of the first quarter, SNHU was quick to put pressure on the defense and earned an offensive penalty corner in the first three minutes. Goalkeeper Hallie Reiger gave it her all to shut down this momentum, protecting the goal cage with two diving plays.
New Haven took the opportunity to score first in the seventh minute of play. Midfielder Paige Garrett brought the ball up the sideline and sent it back over to the middle, finding forward Abby Nixon’s stick. Nixon then passed it over to forward Kat Trammel who was denied by the opposing goalkeeper after a shot on the goal. The forward line refused to back down as they fought for the rebound and Nixon gained possession and scored the first goal of the match.
The rest of the first half was back-and-forth between the two teams with multiple offensive opportunities on both sides. New Haven tallied a total of six shots on goal in the first half. On the defensive side, Reiger held down the goal cage, facing six shots and tallying six saves. Neither team was able to find the net in the first two quarters, leaving the scoreboard to display 1-0 at halftime.
The Chargers started the second half ready to add to their lead and continue their momentum. The opportunity to accomplish this goal arose early in the third quarter when New Haven was awarded an offensive penalty corner. The ball was inserted by Trammel, finding midfielder Sophia Ruh at the top of the circle. Ruh dished the ball over to defender Eliza Caven, who drove the ball into the cage, earning the second goal of the night.
SNHU was quick to answer back, pressuring the defense with multiple shots on goal. Reiger collected two back-to-back saves and added a third with a diving play. However, this dive left her unable to block the lifted ball from a SNHU offender, resulting in the first goal by the Penmen. Unfortunately for New Haven, SNHU capitalized on this momentum and tied the game at two on a penalty corner in the fourth quarter.
With the score now tied, the pressure was on for both teams. Forward Emma Beaujouan stepped up for the offense, with an unbelievable assist that would arguably be the highlight of the night. Taking the ball up the field, Beaujouan attempted to pass the ball around a defender, sending the ball just a bit too hard up the field. With no forwards up the field to receive the pass and prevent it from going out of bounds, Beaujouan sprinted to the endline and dove to keep the ball in play. It was a tremendous effort that sent the ball into the circle, allowing Trammel to take advantage of the save and scoring the third goal for New Haven. Now back in the lead, the Chargers were ready to finish strong.
Desperate for the tying goal, SNHU pulled their goalkeeper with just one minute left, allowing them an extra offensive player in an attempt to find the equalizer. Instead, Caven sent the ball out of the defense and into the stick of Trammel. With just 16 seconds left and no goalkeeper to defend the shot, this breakaway allowed for the final goal of the action-packed night.