Two comebacks help Crimson Hawks survive Mercyhurst in OT, 4-3

Anouk Sickman scored on an assist from Shannon Sullivan just over two minutes into overtime to give the No. 8 Crimson Hawks a 4-3 victory over PSAC West foe Mercyhurst.

Just two minutes into the game the Hawks took a 1-0 lead when Sullivan hit the back of the net with her first goal of the season.

"We started off the game really well," said IUP Head Coach Gary Agard. "Our transition game was amazing."

Mercyhurst found a way to regroup and slow down IUP's potent offense and came away with the equalizer before the first half ended.

"Something happened," Agard said. "We went away from our game plan and they capitalized on what we weren't doing and that resulted in them scoring their first goal."

The second half was all about battling back for the Crimson Hawks as they found themselves down on two occasions. Mercyhurst took a 2-1 lead in the second half and a 3-2 near the 
end of regulation.

But as Agard preaches to his team, resilience is key.

"We came back, they went up again and we came back and tied it 3-3 and that's when we went into overtime," Agard said.

And that's when Sickman found the net for the winning goal.

"She's a very pivotal player for us," Agard said. "The way she plays is an indicator on how the team plays, if she is playing well then team rallies around that and steps up their game."

Agard also said Sickman is really the catalyst of the team, along with Sullivan. The Hawks' (2-0,1-0) next opponent is East Stroudsburg (1-1, 0-0), who is ranked sixth in National Field Hockey Coaches Association, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lock Haven.

Although ESU lost to Merrimack — a team IUP defeated in its first game — Agard doesn't see that as an indication of what to expect in the game.

"If you look at the stats, East Stroudsburg outshot Merrimack and out cornered them," he said. "They are in a rebuilding year, and I look at one game at a time and I know that each team we are going to play this year is going to be a quality team."