No. 6 Syracuse field hockey rallies in final seconds to knock off No. 20 Penn State, 3-2

Cardiac ‘Cuse strikes again. No. 6 Syracuse field hockey sealed a nail-biting 3-2 win over No. 20 Penn State. The Nittany Lions got on the board first, forcing the Orange to play catch up all the way up until the fourth quarter, when Hattie Madden delivered.

“When the corner got called, Bo Madden, my sister, came up to me and was like, ‘Just get on the post.’ And I was like, ‘Okay!’ Because normally Jimmy [Bo van Kempen] just flicks. But I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll get there.’ So I sprinted, and as I turned around, I saw it was coming for my face. And I thought, ‘Oh no!’ So I just leaned back and put my stick out, and I got a touch on it. But I think it was going to go in without my touch anyway. Jimmy’s got such a strong, powerful flick,” Madden said. 

It was that willingness to not give up and key plays like those that had Orange head coach Lynn Farquhar proud of her team.

“They said they like to make it exciting — I don’t know if we need to make it that exciting. I feel like I aged quite a bit there on the sideline. However, most importantly, I think there’s amazing energy. We got some words of wisdom from alums. There’s something different when you believe in what you’re doing, and sometimes you gotta work through the storm to get to the other side. I’m really proud of this group coming together. We had people step up, we used every minute of the game, and found a way through it,” Farquhar added. 

“The spirit’s huge. It’s on the bench, it’s on the stands, it’s on the pitch. That’s what we’re all about. We love what we do, and it showed up.”

The Orange hope to see more of the back of the goal in its next contest on Friday as it hosts Colgate for senior night. Play is set for 5. Reporting from J.S. Coyne Stadium, Sydney Chan, CitrusTV.