MARCY, N.Y. – It took more than 94 minutes, 11 goals, and countless momentum swings for the SUNYIT and Keuaka College women's soccer teams to resolve their differences on Saturday. Incredibly, the home Wildcats hung on for a 6-5 victory in overtime.

It would be impossible to give a full account of every great play and significant stat from Saturday's game, but even to the casual fan, a number of things stood out about the game on Saturday:

1)      Momentum swings: SUNYIT started out down 2-0 before improbably responding with four unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead in the 62^nd minute. Even more improbably, Keuka then answered with two goals to tie the game at four by the 64^th minute. The Wildcats then scored in the 89^th minute to go up 5-4, only to see Keuka tie the score 20 seconds later. Finally, mercifully, the roller coaster ride ended with Dakota Hanley's overtime goal in the 95^th minute. Amanda Bohne (Clay, N.Y. / Cicero-North Syracuse) made a beautiful assist on the play.

2)      Excitement: three goals in the second half (one by SUNYIT, two by Keuka) were separated by just 2 minutes and 46 seconds of clock time, and the two teams' fifth goals were separated by just 17 seconds. Not to mention SUNYIT tied the game at 2-2 in the first half with goals at 35:04 and 36:19.

3)      Rivalry: SUNYIT and Keuka squared off in the championships of both the women's basketball and softball conference tournaments last year, and lately it seems like no matter what the sport between these two teams, the game comes down to the wire.

As mentioned, the action-packed first half featured the visitors jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Both goals were scored by Keuka forward Nicole Sharick. Sharick benefited from an assist by Haley Jordan on the first goal, and beat SUNYIT keeper Maggie Werenczak (Mohawk, N.Y. / Mohawk) one-on-one for the second.

The Wildcats, to their credit, responded five minutes after Sharick's second goal with a fantastic goal by first-year Megan Peterson (Cassville, N.Y. / Mt. Markham). Peterson knocked in a long arching shot from outside the penalty box. Katie Driscoll (Aurora, N.Y. / Southern Cayuga) was credited with an assist on the play.

Less than two minutes later, Abbey Hanehan (Stillwater, N.Y. / Stillwater) evened the score on a penalty kick. Hanehan had a spectacular game, as she would score again later in the game to put SUNYIT up 4-2.

Fast-forwarding to the 64^th minute, a stunned Wildcats team had to watch their hard-won lead evaporate in the span of 30 seconds, as Jessica Bandrowski and Nicole Sharick shredded the SUNYIT defense on back-to-back plays. Sharick had an outstanding day, going for a hat-trick. It may have been more, however, if not for a few excellent defensive plays by Amanda Zarek (Massapequa, N.Y. / Farmingdale). Zarek's biggest contribution would come later, however, as the junior defender garnered a rare assist on a perfectly placed ball to Kristina Strang (Rotterdam, N.Y. / Schalmont). Strang headed home the pass to give SUNYIT a 5-4 lead, and with less than two minutes to play seemed poised to be the heroine for SUNYIT yet again this season (Strang also scored a game-winner in an earlier game against the College of St. Elizabeth).

As she's grown accustomed to doing, however, Jessica Bandrowski soon ruined SUNYIT's plans with her second goal of the day, sending the contest into overtime.

Probably the most impressive part of Saturday's game from the standpoint of SUNYIT was the team's ability to weather huge emotional swings. Goals like Bandrowski's in the 89^th minute or Sharick's in the 64^th are designed to break teams lacking in mental toughness. In overtime, the Wildcats proved no such fate would befall them. SUNYIT came out firing, ending the extra period with a 3-0 shot advantage culminating in Dakota Hanley's game-winning goal. Hanley scored two goals on the game, raising her season total to a team-leading 12 scores (she is tied with Stephanie Wurz (Whitesboro, N.Y. / Notre Dame), despite playing four fewer games than most starters due to an early-season injury.

SUNYIT will now await their official seeding for the NEAC Tournament, to be announced sometime tomorrow. Stay tuned to the Wildcats website for details.