The New Haven field hockey team traveled to Bentley University for the first round of the NE-10 playoffs and came home with a 1-0 win in double overtime. That sends them to the semi-final round of the conference championship for the second year in a row.

Freshman forward Erin Smith came through for the Chargers with a tap-in goal, keeping their season alive and sending Bentley home for the second consecutive season.

New Haven’s offense struggled early on as they were unable to register a shot in the first period. Bentley applied pressure in the opening minutes with a penalty corner, which was blocked before reaching Chargers goalkeeper Keira Integlia. Neither team was able to generate any pressure for the rest of the first quarter, with Bentley only able to manage two shots.

New Haven had a great chance to open the scoring in the second quarter on forward Kat Trammel’s penalty corner, with midfielder Taylor Geaglone putting a shot on the net, but that was shut down by Bentley goalkeeper Mia Trottie. The Chargers were given another penalty corner, but defender Kelli Jacobson’s shot missed just wide of the net, and kept them off the scoreboard.

That was all the offense New Haven was able to generate in the first half, but their defense was strong enough to stop Bentley’s offensive chances to keep the game at a scoreless tie. Bentley also received two penalty corners, but neither was able to reach the net as the defensive battle would continue.

Offense was hard to come by all game for the two teams, as neither team was able to tally a shot in the third quarter. Each team received a penalty corner, but the defense for both teams did not budge, and the game remained tied at zero in the final quarter of regulation.

New Haven’s best chance of the game came with seven minutes left to play, where it looked like they were going to take a 1-0 lead, but the goal was waived off, keeping the scoreless tie intact. In the final minute, Bentley received a penalty corner, but Integlia came up with a huge save to send the game to overtime.

The teams exchanged shots early, with midfielder Sophie Schreck’s shot being blocked and Integlia making a big save the other way to dodge the early threat. The offenses started to come alive for both teams in the first overtime period with New Haven tallying two shots and Bentley tallying three. Both teams looked like they would cash in on their opportunities, but the defenses once again left their mark on the game to send it to double overtime.

New Haven came out firing in the second overtime period, tallying three early shots from midfielders Olivia Chase, Zharria John, and forward Abby Nixon, but they were all unable to capitalize. After five minutes of play, New Haven was given another penalty corner taken by midfielder Sophia Ruh, who moved the ball to midfielder Katie Durkee, who then sent it in the direction of Smith, who was able to finally put the ball past Bentley’s defense, giving the Chargers the win and a bid to the second round of the playoffs.

New Haven will come home for their semi-final matchup with the Pace Setters on Saturday. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. as the Chargers look to continue their season to the conference championship game. More information can be found at NewHavenChargers.com.