Penfield scored 1:39 into the first overtime period with Sydney Nakas scoring off an 8m opportunity.  The Patriots defeated Brighton 9-8 to become 2-0 on the season.  Leading the charge for Penfield was junior Elisa Faklaris with 5g.  Haley Emmick (1g) was also a major player after controlling 6 draw controls.  Brighton was led by three different players who all finished with 2g: Elise Murphy (2g-2a), Delaney McManus (2g-1a) and Katherine Murray (2g).

Penfield’s Danyele Emler won the opening draw for the Patriots to start off tonight’s contest against the Bruins and give them the first shot at offense.  After a few quick passes, Brighton’s defense picked off the pass and took over control.  The Bruins slowed down the pace and took their time clearing the ball.  On offense, the Bruins were anything but brash.  They were slow and methodical, and that patience resulted in the first goal of the night.  Senior midfielder Elsie Murphy fed the ball from the bottom left to the central crease where Meghan Marangola scored the first goal of the night at 22:38.

Emler picked up the next draw and once again put the Patriots on offense.  Similar to the first set, the Patriots were brash and soon lost the ball.  Brighton cleared the ball and again slowed down the pace.  This early in the game, Brighton showed patience, while Penfield still looked to get into their grove.  It would not take long for the Patriots to find their footing.  Elisa Faklaris jumped a pass along the right side of the cage and took the Patriots back on offense.  Shortly thereafter she was checked from behind near the crease and was sent to the 8m line.  She capitalized on the change and tied up the score at 1-1 with 18:05 on the clock.  After their third straight draw win, Penfield was back on offense.  Faklaris won the draw and also scored their second goal less than a minute later.  She cut from the left side of the crease across the middle and caught a pass mid-stride from Emler. 

After another defense stop by the Bruins, they intercepted an errant pass and were back on offense for the second time.  The Bruins passed around the ball and Murphy made her second assist of the night, this time to Delaney McManus.  McManus had beat two defenders on the crease and was a step ahead going into the pass.  With 15:19 remaining in the first half, the score was tied again at 2-2.  Penfield’s Haley Emmick scored the next goal off a nice give and go behind the cage.  She dropped the ball off to Celia Dow and then continued her cut around the crease.  Dow pulled off the defense and passed back to the open Emmick.  Exactly one minute later, Penfield scored again.  This time on a fast-break.  Kennedy Cone crossed the pass to Dow, who scored for the Bruins.  Brighton came back with their next goal off an 8m attempt.  McManus scored her second of the night to bring the game to 4-3 Penfield. Faklaris scored her third goal of the night of another 8m opportunity.  Drow added the final goal of the half at 0:42 remaining off the 8m line.  Penfield took the 6-3 lead into the halftime break.

Coming out of halftime, Brighton won their first draw of the game with Marangola picking up the loose ball.  The Bruins offense continued to be slow and look for opportunities.  Penfield’s defense pushed them out of position from the upper left; however, Brighton looked to the middle and found Olivia DiSanto open for the goal (assisted by McManus).  Penfield scored their first goal of the half with Faklaris scoring again off the 8m with 21:36 remaining.  The Patriots led 7-4.  In the first unassisted (non 8m) goal of the night, Brighton’s Katherine Murray scored with a strong drive from behind the cage.  Penfield’s defense failed to make the slide and she was basically uncontested on the shot.  Penfield continued their draw dominance with Emmick winning her 5^th draw of the night and putting the Patriots back on offense.  Brighton scored the next goal with another drive and feed.  Freshman Lucy Lederman drove down the right side of the cage and drew the defender.  She then passed off to Murray who was open on the crease for the quick Bruins goal.  Brighton tied the game for the first time since 2-2 with a drive to the cage by Murphy.  Penfield called a timeout to slow down the pace of the game.

The final Penfield goal of regulation was scored at 13:24 with Faklaris scoring her fifth goal of the night.  After getting stuck in traffic, she forced the ball up and away and over the Bruin’s goalie.  In addition to her five goals, Faklaris also recorded 4 draw controls in the Patriot’s domination of the draw.  All told, at the end of the night Penfield won all but 2 draws.  With Emmick leading the way at 6 draw controls.  In contrast to the early game, Penfield finally hit their grove in the second half and started slowing down the pace.  Although, Penfield’s overall style was still generally fast-pace and loose, the Patriots showed that they can still win games with this anything goes style.  Conversely, Brighton showed throughout the game (winning or trailing), that patience and persistence was their game plan.  The final Bruin goal of the night was scored off the 8m line.  Murphy scored her second straight goal to tie the game at 8-8 with 5:48 left on the clock.  Both teams had changes in the final six minutes but neither connected.

Going into overtime, Penfield had the initial advantage due to their dominance of the draw.  Emmick won another draw to give them the first chance at the goal.  It was all that they needed.  After feeding Nakas inside the arc, Nakas went to the 8m line.  She buried her shot to the bottom left corner of the net and gave Penfield the 9-8 win only 1:39 seconds into overtime.  This was only the 4^th win for the Patriots over Brighton since 2006 and the first since 2018.  The Patriots increase their record to 2-0 and Brighton falls to 1-1.  Both teams play on 05/01 with Penfield visiting Mercy and Brighton hosting Victor.