Story Courtesy of Stevenson Athletics

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The No. 5 Stevenson field hockey team, the No. 2 seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament, defeated No. 3 seed Messiah in a shootout on Wednesday evening to advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship. With the victory, the Mustangs improve to 17-1 overall and 8-1 in MAC Commonwealth play.

Messiah struck first with a goal at the 1:52 mark, but Sydney Aylward responded to even the score off a penalty corner inserted by Lauren Schulz at 3:13. Just before the end of the opening quarter, Hailey Mertz found the back of the cage with assists from Shae Bennett and Coco Wallace to give Stevenson a 2-1 advantage.
Messiah evened the score at the 19:42 mark, sending the teams into halftime tied at 2-2.

In the third quarter, Messiah regained the lead with a goal in the 44th minute. However, the Mustangs answered in the final frame as Gracyn Catalano found the back of the cage off an assist from Lauren Tobin to tie the contest at 3-3.

After two scoreless overtime periods, the teams headed to a shootout to determine the winner. Stevenson converted on all four of its attempts, with Aylward, Bennett, Catalano and Kailen Hibshman each finding the back of the cage. In goal, Jordan Vradenburgh came up with key stops, limiting Messiah to two goals to secure the shootout victory and send the Mustangs to the MAC Commonwealth Championship.

Three different Mustangs recorded a goal and an assist in the contest, while four players converted their shootout attempts. Jordan Vradenburgh made 13 saves in goal. 

The Mustangs prepare to travel to first seeded York (Pa.) on Saturday for the MAC Commonwealth Championship. Earlier this season, Stevenson defeated the Spartans 1-0 in overtime. The championship contest is scheduled for noon.