Forbes Road advances in OT thriller
WINGATE -- Despite dominating the offensive play, it wasn't an easy escape for Forbes Road's field hockey team on Wednesday afternoon.
With just three minutes left in the second overtime period, McKenzie Gelvin flicked the ball up and over the shoulder of Ellis School's keeper, sending the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory in a PIAA Class AA first-round game.
"This was an awesome win," Forbes Road coach Carol Cline said. "Talk about working really hard."
The Cardinals (17-3) advances to face Twin Valley on Saturday at a time and site to be decided.
Forbes Road had complete control throughout most of the game. It racked up 20 shots, compared to just two for Ellis, and it had 19 penalty corners, while the Tigers had only five.
"We owned the ball the whole first half," Cline said. "The discrepancy here is that we had at least two shots hit the post, and we just missed the cage. The goalkeeper came out of her box a bit, so there was plenty of sapce there. But it worked for her because our shots went zipping right by that post."
All three of Forbes Road's goal were scored on extended corner plays, but the case was the same for Ellis, which shot twice and converted both times.
Brittany Truax and Kiersten Cline each had second-half goals for the Cardinals. In overtime, a corner came out to Cline who made a quick shot, but it deflected off the keeper's pads before Gelvin scooped up the rebound and scored the victory.
Mina Wilt, Tina Parsons and Malea Truax all had standout games, according to Carol Cline.
Forbes Road 3, Ellis School 2, OT
Ellis School_ 0_ 2_ 0_ 0_ — _2
Forbes Road_ 0_ 2_ 0_ 1_ — _3
Second Half - (Ellis) Angie Scheuerman, asst. Nyjah Cephas, 36th min., (FR) Kiersten Cline, asst. Mina Wilt, 55th, (FR) Brittany Truax, asst. McKenzie Gelvin, Cline, 56th, (Ellis) Charlotte Forsythe, asst. Scheuermann, 59th.
Overtime - (FR) Gelvin, 87th
Shots on goal - Ellis 2, FR 20; Corners - Ellis 5, FR 19; Saves – Ellis 10 (Courtney Baldwin), FR 0 (Olivia Hall).