Midd-West outlasts Mifflinburg in OT

Oct. 10—MIFFLINBURG — Bailey McCoy apologized to her Midd-West teammates after Tuesday's game for a verbal reaction that sent her to the sideline and forced the Mustangs to play a girl down in overtime.

"It was a little much," the junior right wing said.

However, if one didn't know better, one might be persuaded she jacked up Midd-West's degree of difficulty on purpose.

The Mustangs took four penalty cards totaling 14 minutes in the showdown against Heartland Athletic Conference-Division II rival Mifflinburg. They played determined hockey in the face of each disadvantage, not only holding the Wildcats without a shot in those instances but scoring a short-handed goal for the 1-0 overtime victory.

Maesyn Franquet controlled a rebound off the goalie's pads, and pushed home her 10th goal of the season with 2:38 to play in the extra period.

"The intentions were to try to get it in the cage and get the game over with," the freshman midfielder said with a laugh.

Midd-West blanked Mifflinburg for the second time four weeks (the Wildcats' only shutout losses), winning a matchup of two of the three 11-win teams in District 4. The Mustangs (12-2 overall, 6-2 HAC-II) and Wildcats (12-3-1, 5-3-1) trail Central Columbia (12-2-1, 7-0-1) in the division and Lewisburg in the Class A district power rankings.

"We competed almost 70 minutes, but they were down a player for 14. We've got to be able to capitalize on that," said Mifflinburg coach Emily Stauffer. "We're not successful on corners, and that's supposed to be an advantage for us.

"So, yeah, that's a tough pill to swallow, for sure."

The Wildcats finished with 10 penalty corners, nine in the first half — eight in the second quarter alone — but they challenged Midd-West goalie Aleah Feltman on only their first and last opportunities in the second quarter.

Annika Klinefelter's shot from the right side of the circle was turned away by Feltman to open that eight-corner sequence. Feltman later charged a least 10 yards out of the cage to prevent a Mifflinburg shot on its last corner until the 9:38 mark of the fourth.

The Wildcats played without a corner for entire third period — despite plenty of possession — as the ball rarely found team assist leader Anna Pachucki on the right flank. She was integral to Mifflinburg's first-half success generating chances.

"In hockey the right side is your strong side, so we've really got to be able to go that way. I don't think we did," said Stauffer. "So we definitely have some things to clean up. We competed. We just couldn't execute."

Midd-West, meanwhile, took green cards in the second and third quarters, and yellow in the fourth and overtime. Twice, the Mustangs were penalized for hitting a Mifflinburg ball after the whistle.

"Even being down a player, I think Midd-West field hockey is definitely a team atmosphere, and we all — all the time — are going 110%, no matter what," said Franquet. "So I just think that we have trust in each other that we will put the ball in the back of the cage. We practice these situations, and we just trust in our skills and our ability."

In the final eight minutes of regulation, Midd-West scoring leader Abby Benner (29 points) whistled a left-to-right shot wide of the cage; Mifflinburg's Lainey Miller swept a ball toward the left post that just missed teammate Lily Martin's stick; and Franquet lifted a shot wide on a corner taken after time expired.

The Mustangs played the final 3:34 of regulation (and opening 1:26 of OT) without forward Kylie Brown, a 22-point scorer. McCoy (23 points) took her yellow card with 5:50 to play.

Midd-West responded with a long run by Benner against three defenders that was stopped by Klinefelter. Brown later worked the ball from the right flank to Benner in the center of the circle. Benner ripped a reverse-stick shot off Wildcats goalie Lilee Dorman's pads, and Franquet pounced on the rebound to score the game-winner.

"I know my team," McCoy said. "I know that I should have kept my anger under control a lot more, especially in 7-v-7. But I knew my team could do it, even without me."

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MIDD-WEST 1, MIFFLINBURG 0 (OT)

Overtime

MW: Maesyn Franquet, 2:38.

Shots: MW 6-4. Corners: M 10-7. Cards: Midd-West, Bailey McCoy (2nd, 8:18, green; OT, 5:50, yellow); Franquet (3rd, 9:04, green); Kylie Brown (4th, 3:34, yellow). Defensive save: Mifflinburg, Aubrey Fluman. Saves: Midd-West 4 (Aleah Feltman); Mifflinburg 4 (Lilee Dorman).