WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Eighty-three seconds from being shutout for the second-straight game, junior Eva Valentini (Junin, Argentina) added another top moment in her legendary career. The junior tied the game with 83 seconds left in regulation and then scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute to lift Saint Francis past LIU 2-1 in overtime of a Northeast Conference (NEC) field hockey action on Friday.
>> Amber Bryan (Thorndale, Pa.) turned away eight shots including three stops in the first overtime to help set up Valentini's heroics.
>> Saint Francis improved to 8-6 on the year and 3-1 in NEC play to currently sit in the second position with three matches remaining in the regular season.

TURNING POINTS After LIU scored in the 43rd minute and with the time dwindling down in regulation, the Red Flash was awarded a penalty corner in the final 90 seconds. Olivia Muffitt (Newport, Pa.) inserted the ball to Julia Breneman (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and set up Valentini, who rocketed a shot off the cage heard around Loretto to even the match at 1.
 
The Sharks had the only three shots in the first overtime period and one penalty corner. Bryan was able to kick save away all three chances by LIU at 60:48, 68:51 and 69:56.
 
Both Saint Francis and LIU had shots off of penalty corners and the Sharks had a shot blocked before the Red Flash won the game. Valentini, who was running up and down the field playing defense and coming up for penalty corners with only five other field players on the field, had a shot off a penalty corner blocked before a second penalty corner was called. The junior made sure the game would last no longer as she hit the back of the cage for the second time in nearly 20 minutes off an insertion by Marie Sattler (Kaiserslautern, Germany) at 77:01 for the game-winning score.
 

Game, set, match courtesy of an Eva Valentini 🚀
@NFHCA @necfhockey @NECsports #NFHCAPlay pic.twitter.com/yGlnvmZbFw

— Saint Francis Field Hockey (@RedFlashFH) October 14, 2023

FLASH NUGGETS
Valentini notched her fourth two-goal game of her career and her first since posting two goals against LIU in last year's 3-2 win in Brookville on October 9, 2022. It was also just the second time the junior had a multi-goal performance at home and the first since scoring a pair of goals against Ohio University at DeGol Field on September 19, 2021.
 
In Valentini's three matches against the Sharks, the Red Flash has outscored LIU 6-3 and Valentini has posted four goals in those meetings. The Argentina native, leads the team with seven goals and two assists for 16 points and fuels the league in goals.
 
Just like Valentini, the assist for Sattler moved her into the top spot in the circuit for assist with seven after play on Friday. The freshman is second on the team with two goals and seven helpers for 11 points.
 
Breneman now has three goals and two assists for eight points this season to increase her career total to nine goals and seven assists for 25 points.  Muffitt has a goal and two assists for four points in 2023 and now has eight goals and three assists for 19 points in her career.
 
Bryan has recorded 17 saves in her last two games and 41 for the year. The redshirt senior has allowed one goal or less in nine of the 13 games she has played this season. She registered a career-high 77:01 minutes in the cage on Friday.
 
Saint Francis is 3-1 in NEC play for the third time in program history, joining the 2007 and 2011 teams. In addition, the Red Flash have an 8-6 overall record for the third-best start after 14 games in program history along with the 2015 and 2016 teams.
 
The Loretto program won its second game this season after trailing in the match and the second in the last three games.

UP NEXT
Saint Francis returns to action with its final road trip of the season, starting at Merrimack on October 20. Game time is 4 p.m.