MADISON, N.J. – The Wilkes field hockey squad traveled to New Jersey Friday night for a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom showdown with FDU-Florham.
 
The Colonels (8-6, 1-2) had a lead right up to the final minutes of regulation, before a last-minute goal and another goal in double overtime gave the victory to conference front-runner FDU-Florham (11-2, 3-0).
 
The teams grappled in the first two quarters to a scoreless tie heading into the halftime break.  Both teams had three shots and two saves in the scoreless half.  The action picked up quickly in the third quarter, with the Colonels striking first in the 34^th minute.  Freshman forward Morghan Murphy (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) gave it to senior midfielder Lauren Baldwin (Clarks Summit, PA/Lackawanna Trail) off of a corner, where she put it in for the first Colonel goal of the evening.
 
The Devils would answer back in the 38^th with a goal off of a penalty corner of their own, but the tie would not last long.  Murphy put in a goal of her own in the 44^th minute with a reverse stick shot off of the left side to give the Colonels the lead heading into the fourth quarter.  Freshman goalkeeper Vanessa Damgaard (Elysburg, PA/Columbia Montour Area Vocational Technical School) had three saves in the period, but a penalty stroke in the 57^th minute would tie the game and send it into overtime.
 
The first overtime played out similarly to the first half, with neither team finding the back of the net.  The Colonels had four shots on goal while the Devils had five.  The Devils would eventually find the game-winning goal in second overtime in the 76^th minute to claim their third conference win of the season.
 
Baldwin had five shots on the evening, four on goal, while Murphy had four shots, three on goal as well as an assist.  Each player put home a goal for the Colonels.  Junior defender Zoe Stepanski (Dallas, PA/Dallas) had a defensive save for the Colonels, while Damgaard had seven saves of her own for the night.
 
The Colonels look to bounce back from their hard-fought loss Tuesday as they travel to Scranton, Pa. to face off with Marywood.  The Colonels are 7-0 in the series dating back to 2007, and won the last matchup 4-3 at Schmidt Stadium during the 2017 season.