Stephen Decatur field hockey falls just short in regional final

BERLIN, Md. – Stephen Decatur field hockey fell to South River 3-2 on Tuesday in Berlin in the 3A East II Region Final.

The game was scoreless until the final two minutes of the first half, when South River’s Kate O’Connell found the back of the net to put her team ahead. It took all of 30 seconds for the home team to respond, with Kate Reed tucking away a rebound off of a Jill Burton shot to bring Decatur even, the game tied 1-1 at half.

South River started the second half quickly, with O’Connell once again finding space in the circle and scoring within the first minute of the third quarter to make it 2-1 in favor of South River.

It wasn’t until the fourth that Stephen Decatur was able to equalize, with Bailey Griffin capitalizing on a penalty stroke opportunity with 12 minutes remaining. The game headed to overtime tied at 2-2.

In the second 10-minute period of 7-on-7 overtime, South River’s Bailey O’Connell finished a look in front of the net to end the game, earning her team the 3A East II Region Title and punching their ticket to the state quarterfinals.