MADISON, N.J. (September 30, 2017) - Trailing by two goals in the 43rd minute, the FDU field hockey tallied three goals in over the next 12 minutes to top Wilkes 3-2 Saturday.

The win moved FDU to 8-3 and 2-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom, while Wilkes dropped to 3-7, 0-2 in conference.

Wilkes scored at the 7:40 mark of the opening half, as Marissa Surdy flicked a reverse shot past the goalie, putting the visitors on the board. FDU had back-to-back chances in the 20th minute, but shots by senior Marissa Kowalskie and junior Chrissy Penney were stopped.

In the 25th minute, junior Brooke Sherwin had two attempts, but were thwarted by keeper Dallas Kendra. With 34 seconds left in the period, junior Kelly O'Neill had a point blank shot save stopped by Kendra. The Devils held a 16-4 edge in shots and an 8-2 advantage in penalty corners during the first half, but were unable to capitalize.

4:32 into the second stanza, the Colonels doubled their lead. Megan Kane inserted a corner, and Haley Gayoski was there for the hard shot to put the visitors up 2-0. 

The Devils took control after that, getting awarded four straight penalties corners. The tide began to turn when Wilkes received a yellow card at the 42:07. Nine seconds after the card, Sherwin had a shot blocked, but Penney was there for the rebound for her third tally of the season.

Wilkes moved the ball downfield after the Devils trimmed the lead in half, but a long pass was kicked out of the defensive area by goalkeeper Samantha Rubin. The Devils quickly went on a counter-attack, as Sherwin raced in on a breakaway but had the ball poked out by a sliding keeper. The ball found the stick of Kowalskie, who fired home a shot into the unmanned cage to even the game at two. 

The Devils thought they had the go-ahead goal at 48:01, but a shot by junior Makayla Pak was stopped by a defender on the goal line. Kowalskie would breakthrough once more, as she converted a pass from sophomore Ariana Wexler for her second of the game, giving FDU a 3-2 lead.

The defense, led by the aggressive stick play of senior Lauren Brannan, allowed just two shots over the final 16 minutes. Brannan played an active role, getting her stick in the way to deflect and intercept passes.

Rubin made five saves in the victory, while Kowalskie had seven of her eight shots attempts on goal. Sherwin and sophomore Maggie Sohns combined for 10 shots.

FDU's next game will on the road, traveling to La Plume, Pa. to take on Keystone on Wednesday, October 4.