SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Senior
Maddie Greco and first-year
Caroline Ranucci combined for five of Union College's six goals, including the game-tying goal in the final half-minute of regulation and the game-winner in the first minute of overtime, to lead the Garnet Chargers to a 6-5 (OT) comeback win over Skidmore College in Liberty League field hockey action on Friday afternoon at Wagner Park.
Greco had a monster game for Union (6-3, 1-1 Liberty League), playing a role in five of the team's six scores with three goals and two assists for a career-high eight points, tied for the fifth-most points in a game in school history and the most since Bretta Beer '18 had eight against Castleton in 2015. Ranucci also came up huge for the visitors, scoring the first two goals of her collegiate career and adding an assist for a five-point game, while senior
Amy Vytopilova also scored for the Garnet Chargers in the wild win.
Down by two goals after 45 minutes, Union rallied with three goals in a thrilling fourth quarter to force overtime. Greco made it a one-goal game with 9:28 remaining, as she stuffed home a shot from senior
Molly Halliday at the right post. Just over two minutes later the game was tied after a blast from the top of the circle by Ranucci, who rocketed her first collegiate goal into the net off a feed by sophomore
Lily Durivage off a penalty corner.
Skidmore (4-5, 1-1 Liberty League) continued the see-saw battle by going back ahead with 4:37 remaining, but Union did not quit. Earning a penalty corner in the final minute, Greco inserted the ball to Durivage, whose shot was blocked but came right to Greco, who slipped the ball under the pads of goalie Nicole Sylvestri to tie the score with 22 ticks left on the clock.
Union needed less than a minute to win the game in overtime, as Greco intercepted a pass in the opening seconds, took the ball towards goal and found Ranucci in front for an off-balance score just 37 seconds into the extra session.
After losing 28 straight games to the Thoroughbreds between 1997-2022, the Garnet Chargers have now won four straight against their local rivals.
Skidmore struck first with 8:15 remaining in the first quarter, when a shot was illegally blocked in the goal mouth and the result was a penalty stroke that Colby Paul snuck into the lower-left corner.
After the score remained 1-0 headed into the second stanza, the Garnet Chargers took their first lead with two goals in 24 seconds. Greco evened the score 3:03 into the quarter, taking a long cross-field pass from Ranucci and netting her sixth goal of the year. Vytopilova put the visitors ahead for the first time just a few seconds later, taking a nice feed from Greco and beating the goalie one-on-one for her fourth of the season.
However, the goals didn't stop there as Skidmore found the net again just 37 seconds after that to quickly even the score again and then took back the lead less than three minutes later. Skidmore added the only goal of the third quarter to take a two-goal lead into the final frame, which only set the stage for a fantastic Union comeback.
Senior
Marion Stuntz got the start for Union and made four saves over the first 20:49 before giving way to first-year
Ellie Skolnekovich, who stopped three shots the rest of the way to earn her first collegiate victory. Skidmore finished the afternoon with a slight 20-19 edge in shots and a 12-11 advantage in on-target attempts, while both teams earned seven penalty corners.
Union will look to keep the momentum going on Sunday with a 2 p.m. matchup against St. Lawrence University at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.
