Cardinals force overtime

FIELD HOCKEY

By Tim Falls, Sports Editor
   The Lawrence High School field hockey team has been putting in a lot of overtime lately.
   The Cardinals lost in overtime, 4-3, to Allentown Tuesday and tied Lawrenceville, 2-2, in an extra period on Saturday.
   Allentown came from behind to tie the game and win in overtime after Lawrence took an early lead.
   ”It was very tough,” said Lawrence coach Kristin Shields. “I thought we played pretty well.”
   Lawrence scored first and led, 2-1, at halftime against the Red Birds. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Allentown managed to tie the game late in the second half and Kasie Nurko put in the game-winner in the first period of overtime.
   Lawrence came close to handing Allentown its first loss of the season, but Nurko helped her team improve to 5-0.
   The Cardinals dropped to 2-2 with the loss, despite goals from Melissa Casale, Amanda Sawasky and Maria Eldridge.
   Lawrence led Allentown in shots, 13-11 and Lisa Tamulia had five saves in goal for the Cardinals.
   Against Lawrenceville, the Cardinals had to come from behind.
   Eldridge tied the game in the final minutes to force overtime for Lawrence. Prior to the non-conference game, both coaches agreed to play only one period of overtime if the score was tied after regulation play.
   ”That was a great game for our team,” said Shields. “We played really well. We really fought to the end.”
   Sawasky scored in the first half for the Cardinals, while Lawrenceville gained a 2-1 lead with tallies from Becky Mantell and Taylor Bloom.
   While the Big Red led in shots, 11-6, Lawrence’s Tamulia came up with nine saves to keep the game tight.
   While neither team scored in the overtime period, Lawrence avoided a loss and remained undefeated until running afoul of Allentown.
   Lawrence prevailed with a 5-1 victory over Princeton for the Cardinals’ second win of the season after opening with a victory over Hamilton last Friday night.
   ”I think they were working well as a cohesive unit,” said Shields. “They didn’t give up and kept fighting for the ball the entire time.”
   Casale led Lawrence’s scoring, tallying three times against the Little Tigers, while Eldridge scored twice. Devon Harris had two assists, while Eldrige had one.
   Tamulia made two saves while holding Princeton to one goal.
   While Allentown handed Lawrence its first loss of the season, the Cardinals will look to add on another win when they play Hopewell today.