COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Brooke Overly made her Senior Day one to remember.
The veteran co-captain broke a scoreless stalemate less than a minute into the second half, then scored twice in a span of 25 seconds later in the period to lead the Ursinus College field hockey team to a massive 3-1 Centennial Conference victory over Johns Hopkins on Saturday. Overly's second career hat trick came at the perfect time for the Bears (8-7, 6-2), who handed the Blue Jays their first conference loss of the season while simultaneously clinching their own conference playoff berth.
Overly, who also scored three goals against Bryn Mawr as a freshman, was not only the first player to net a hat trick against Hopkins this season – she was also the first to score on the Blue Jays in their last six games. Hopkins (11-4, 7-1) came in riding a streak of five consecutive shutouts.
Both teams had chances in a first half that was largely controlled by the Bears, who held a 9-5 advantage in shots and earned seven corners to the Blue Jays' one. Still, three saves by Hopkins keeper Jodie Baris kept Ursinus off the board in a scoreless opening frame. Bears junior net-minder Jules Singer came up big with four of her own, several of them from close range, to prevent the Blue Jays from gaining the upper hand.
The Bears wasted no time in decoding the Blue Jays' back line after intermission. Just 47 seconds into the second stanza, Overly put the home side in front with a hard shot from the left side of the circle off a feed from sophomore Erin Saybolt.
Overly's afternoon only got better from there. She scored two goals just 25 seconds apart to complete her hat trick and put Ursinus in total command. With 21:43 to play, sophomore Anna Hall sent a shot into the circle that deflected off a defender and kicked right to Overly, who deposited the loose ball into the back of the cage for a 2-0 lead. Almost immediately after, junior Brianne Nicholas pick-pocketed a Hopkins defender, dribbled into the right side of the circle and slid a pass across the crease for a charging Overly, who slapped home a shot between Baris' legs for her third marker of the day and the first collegiate assist for Nicholas.
Lucy Reider got the Blue Jays on the board with 18:36 remaining on a shot to the left post following a corner, but the Blue and White had few chances from then on.
Overly ripped off ten shots for Ursinus, which owned a 24-14 surplus in that category and a 14-4 advantage in penalty corners. Saybolt had five shots, and Nicholas and sophomore Gemma Dufoe added three apiece.
With six more points, Overly moved into 20th in program history with 80 for her career.
Freshman Kayla Paulson made her first career start for Ursinus, which extended its winning streak against Hopkins to six.
Grace Hillman paced the Blue Jays with five shots, with Clare Kavanagh and Morgan Pothast chipping in three each.
Baris made nine saves for Hopkins, which got a defensive save from Francesca Cali, while Singer finished with eight stops in her 25th career win.
The field hockey team has another critical CC tilt at Washington College on Wednesday, October 25. Both teams are tied for third in the conference at 6-2, and the winner will avoid the first-round playoff game.
