Sophomore Kelly Shetron scored her second goal of the game 1:44 into the second overtime to give the Muhlenberg field hockey team a 3-2 win over Lynchburg in the thrilling finale of the Mule Classic.

Muhlenberg and Elizabethtown both went 2-0 in the tournament, sending two Virginia teams

Schram finished with 13 saves, the second-highest total of her career, and held Fleming to one goal on 17 shots.

home with four losses. There was no tournament champion named.

The Mules, who had lost seven straight overtime games dating back to 2001 and had not won a double-OT contest since 1998, controlled the ball for the entire second extra period, winning an early penalty corner. Starting to the right of the cage, Muhlenberg passed the ball around to the left, from where sophomore Lauren Rutt dumped it in to Shetron for a close-range shot.

“We were really close the whole overtime, and we just needed to finish,” said Shetron, who had to leave the first overtime after a ball popped off her stick and hit her in the eye.

Shetron’s first-ever overtime game-winner completed the triumph of the Mules’ precision over the Hornet’s explosiveness. Lynchburg, featuring the 2004 Division III scoring leader in Andrea Fleming, used its speed to outshoot Muhlenberg by a two-to-one margin in regulation (22-11), despite play that was fairly even.

The Mule defense came up with one big play after another. Junior Kate Moyer made a defensive save late in the first half to preserve a scoreless tie. Early in the second half, right after Shetron’s first goal opened the scoring, junior Lauren Schram stopped a breakaway.

A few minutes later, Schram kicked the ball in the air and behind her on an attempted save. It appeared headed for the goal before junior Allie Covell reached up with her stick to bat the ball away. The Hornets were awarded a penalty stroke, but Schram saved Fleming’s attempt.

Lynchburg, the 2004 Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular-season champion, eventually did find the back of the cage, scoring twice in under four minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Muhlenberg tied the game with nine minutes left in regulation when Moyer deflected in sophomore Jillian Duffy’s cross for her first career goal.

The Mules dominated the overtime sessions, neutralizing the Hornets’ speed in the 7-on-7 play by keeping a defender back at all times. Moyer and sophomore Nikki Rhoads stopped potential breakaways late in the first overtime, and Lynchburg only got inside the circle once.

“We have a solid defense,” said Shetron. “We made accurate passes and great tackles. We didn’t let them get away with anything [in overtime]”

Duffy had two assists in the game, tying a school record set 28 times previously.

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