CLAREMONT — The Stevens High field hockey team’s season ended in gut-wrenching fashion Thursday after a controversial overtime goal gave No. 9-seeded Conant a 2-1 win over the No. 8-seeded Cardinals in their first-round playoff matchup.
With under three minutes left in the contest’s 10-minute sudden-death overtime at Monadnock Park, a scramble deep in the shooting circle ended with Conant’s Autumn Burgoyne finishing the ball for her second goal of the game, giving the Orioles the NHIAA Division III playoff win.
There was just one problem, at least from the vantage point of Stevens head coach Madison Miller. As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, Miller yelled from the sideline that the ball hit a Conant player’s foot during the scoring sequence, which would have nullified the goal.
Ultimately, Stevens’ head coach received a green card for her post-game interaction with the officials and the goal stood, ending her team’s season.
“It did hit her foot,” an emotional Miller said after the game. “It’s frustrating. You know, I started coaching here when the seniors were freshmen, and I feel badly that their last game ends in something that should have been a call.”
Adding: “I mean, it should have been the ball coming out. It shouldn’t have been a goal. So that’s just a really disappointing way to end our season when it was the wrong call made.”
Lilly Skinner scored the Cardinals’ lone goal of the contest, while their netminder, Narcissa Paligo, had a solid afternoon with nine saves.
After a scoreless first quarter in which Stevens generated plenty of pressure, the Cardinals broke through in the second frame for the contest’s first goal.
A shot from Callie Demars, initially saved by Conant’s Gretchen Somero, trickled toward the left post, and Skinner pounced to send it into the back of the net, putting Stevens up 1-0 with about nine minutes remaining in the frame.
The Cardinals’ 1-0 lead held through halftime. However, Stevens’ third quarter, which Miller told her team in a huddle before the fourth frame was sloppy, eventually allowed the Orioles to tie things up.
In the third quarter, Conant had Stevens on its heels. The Orioles’ pressure mounted as the frame wore on, and they finally tied it on a Burgoyne score with under two minutes left.
The Cardinals came out better in the fourth quarter as both teams battled to gain an edge. One of Stevens’ best chances came a little over halfway through the final 15 minutes, when Skinner had the ball deep but couldn’t get a clean shot off.
Conant also had chances, including a penalty corner in the final minute that didn’t lead to a score. In the waning moments of regulation, Skinner went on a long run that might have ended in a scoring chance if time hadn’t expired.
In a pulse-pounding overtime, Stevens had some chances, notably from Kaylee Bonneville, who had one shot denied and another that went wide. But even with the Cardinals’ chances, Conant eventually scored the game-winner.
Despite the tough ending, Miller was proud of her squad.
“I think that we were given a tough hand with a small roster and a lot of freshmen in our starting lineup, and the kids rose to the occasion every time. We had a lot of captain and senior injuries that played a huge part in how our season went, and you know, the younger kids stepped up in a way that I didn’t think was possible, and I’m really proud of them,” she said.
Adding: “I’m really proud of the seniors who were injured, who still came every day and were supportive of their teammates and mentored the younger girls, even though, you know, they knew they were walking out the door, and I’m just really proud of all of them.”
