WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ — Monmouth's resiliency was tested once again Friday.
Hosting Towson on So Sweet A Cat Field for its Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) opener, the Hawks (5-1 overall, 1-0 CAA) came from behind and overcame two goals whipped off the board following a review to grind out a hard-fought, 2-1 overtime victory.
"Even though it was a heart-racing type of a game, this is exactly the situation that we need to be in to be tested," said Monmouth coach
Carli Figlio. "We've really been working since February when we took the team on a retreat and asking, 'alright, what is our identity? Can we dig deep when it's not going well?' Last year we really struggled with that, and I think this game was such a great experience for us, because we had to dig deep multiple times in really big situations. I'm so very proud of how we were able to come out of this game."
Éabha Curran was the hero, as she put away the overtime game-winner with five minutes left in overtime to cement the Hawks their fourth-straight win and first in the conference. The moment was extra special for Curran, whose family traveled all the way from Cork, Ireland for the game to watch as Curran solidified the victory for her side.
"I'm just super excited for them and for myself really, for them coming from so far. It's great to have them see me out there," Curran said. "It's really exciting just to see them in the crowd. It was a momentous occasion."
Monmouth controlled the game from the start and ultimately out-shot the Tigers, 26-6, including 11-4 in shots on goal. The Hawks had chances inside their circle as well, tallying 14 penalty corners which tied a season high.
Towson did well to get their sticks on initial shots from the insert with goalie Riley Redding coming up with eight big stops.
Towson took the lead to start the fourth quarter, as Anouk Westerink took a swing that found the back corner of goal, ricochetting off a Hawk and into the goal. Monmouth was then hit with a yellow that ate away five minutes of possession as it played man-down, but the hosts persevered through and allowed just one shot in the stanza with junior goalie
Charlie Bowman coming up with the stop.
The Hawks chased the lead the rest of the quarter.
Anna Moors, playing her first action of the year since coming back from a season-ending knee injury last fall, almost had the game-tying goal with four minutes left off a corner. Her swing found the back of the cage, but after an official review, the goal was taken off the board and Towson held onto the lead.
Gallery: (9-18-2026) Field Hockey v Towson 9/18- Allyson Ryan
"Her first corner shot was excellent. It was a great save by the Towson goalkeeper and then for her to get that first other goal would've been fantastic, but all the credit to them and our leaders," Figlio said. "You can hear Claire [Campen] whether she's on the sideline or in the game, just constant positivity and belief and that's something that again, we didn't always have last year. That is huge growth for us."
Monmouth was forced to pull Bowman to add an extra field player with four minutes left while still trailing by one and ultimately, the Hawks broke the scoreless draught thanks to
Lilly Ricks. Ricks drove into the circle, fired through traffic and lasered a ball toward net that found the back corner for the goal.
Monmouth continued to fight, earning three corners in the final minute and another with four seconds left, however, it couldn't capitalize in regulation forcing its first overtime game of the season.
Neither team saw early chances in the opening 15 minutes of extra time until
Maia McCourt found her way through the circle in the 70th minute. McCourt dribbled past a defender and reversed sticked a shot that was initially saved by Redding, but Curran was there on the rebound, finding the ball and laying it into the back of the net for the game-winning goal. The play was reviewed one last time, but after deliberation the call was upheld, solidifying the 2-1 outcome.
"I was fairly confident that it was a goal," Curran said. "I knew they were referring Maia's back stick, but I didn't think it was a back-stick, so I was more confident more so than anything and just hopeful but thank god it went our way."
Curran led the offense with four shots, two on goal. McCourt registered an assist on the final play, while Ricks scored on her lone shot of the afternoon. Bowman recorded the win after playing the last 38-plus minutes of the game, finishing with three saves including one on a penalty stroke by Towson early in the third quarter.
"It's a huge start for us," Curran added. "We worked for this all spring, all preseason, all those double sessions. You can see all the effort is really paying off and I think we all are really proud of each other and owe it to ourselves individually and together that we worked hard for this. I think it was well deserved."
Monmouth returns to its home turf Sunday to host Big Ten's Penn State at noon before going on the road next Friday to resume CAA action against Hofstra.
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