Redshirt sophomore Camilla Hill made 10 stops in her second game as the Tribe’s starting goalkeeper, but it was not enough to prevent Miami (Ohio) (3-4) from edging the Tribe (3-4) 2-1 in overtime Saturday afternoon. The loss was the third straight for the College, which dropped below .500 for the first time since a season-opening defeat to Boston College.
“This was the first time after a loss this year that we didn’t come back out rejuvenated,” Head Coach Peel Hawthorne said. “We would’ve felt more lucky than good if we had won today.”
Despite Hill’s efforts, the goalkeeper was once again let down by her offense. The College struggled to generate chances, registering only one shot on goal in a sloppy first half for both teams.
The Tribe has only tallied one goal over its last 114 minutes of play. The team had not scored since a strike by senior captain Wesley Drew that occurred with seven minutes to play in the first half Thursday against Virginia.
“Our intensity since the first half of the Virginia game has been disappointing,” Hawthorne said.
Miami controlled the time of possession early in the second half and tallied five of its 16 penalty corners within the first ten minutes of the frame. Hill was forced to make several saves to keep the score even at zero.
The Tribe’s offense sparked briefly when the Redhawks’ Amanda Seeley was given a five-minute yellow card at 21:24.
Sophomore Leah Zamesnik responded by forcing a turnover and charging downfield toward the Miami net. Redhawk goalie Abbey Huck challenged the sophomore at the top of the crease and Zamesnik slid the ball to junior Jenna Cinalli. Cinalli dove across the crease to slot the ball home and give the Tribe an early 1-0 advantage.
But the Tribe’s momentum was quickly blunted. Miami’s Katie Brightwell tied the game on an unassisted goal at 11:44 of the second half on her team’s 14th penalty corner of the match.
The game proceeded to overtime, where another penalty corner doomed the Tribe.
Less than three minutes into the extra period, Brightwell struck again for her second goal of the match, off Miami’s 16th penalty corner.
Despite the close score, the Tribe was unhappy with their level of intensity throughout the match.
“We just don’t have consistency,” Zamesnik said. “We didn’t play well in the second half last game [versus Virginia], and we were dead at practice [Friday].”
The Tribe returns to the field Wednesday with the third game of a five-game home stand against Richmond.
