Rowan Field Hockey beat the No. 2 ranked Salisbury Eagles with a walk-off goal scored by Allie Palumbo, giving the Profs a 2-1 win and Palumbo her 100th career point.

The game was scoreless throughout the first half for both sides, which was not surprising given the way Rowan goalie Mariah Juiliano has been playing recently and Salisbury’s impressive record of only letting up ten goals all season.

“She has come a long way,” Palumbo said. “I feel like she’s the number one person I can trust back there.”

Herman and Palumbo were also keys to the defensive effort. Herman has been one of the biggest contributors to Rowan’s strong defense all season, despite not having much experience back there.

“I have never been the lowest defender in my entire life,” Herman said. “I learned to have more patience in the backfield and try to win fouls instead of just trying to win the ball.”

Similarly, Palumbo typically does not play as far back as she did this game, but it definitely helped the team’s defense against a high-scoring Salisbury offense.

“Normally, as a left mid, I have to hold in line with the center back,” Palumbo said. “What I was trying to do was creep up because they like to utilize their right pull. So if someone in the middle got beat, I would be the first to step up.”

Near the end of the third quarter, the 0-0 tie was broken by Salisbury, who scored off a corner with the goal coming from Marli McDorman.

Herman drew a few fouls throughout the game, but none more crucial than when she was fouled with 11:26 left in the game, drawing a penalty stroke.

“I knew that was something we needed to shift momentum after the play,” Herman said. “As soon as I got those fouls, I knew we had an advantage, I knew we had them frustrated, and I knew it was something we could end up capitalizing on.”

For Herman, drawing fouls has been a staple of her game all season long, so it was no surprise that she did it again with the game on the line.

“One of the things she does very well is move with the ball at speed,” head coach Michelle Andre said. “The ball sits on her stick as she travels at an angle. It makes it very tough for defenders when she’s going one way, then changes, and since she has the ball on her stick, sometimes she gets hard fouls with the way she’s able to maneuver the ball.”

Rowan’s Alexa Ronning capitalized on the foul drawn by Herman, hitting the penalty stroke into the bottom left corner of the net, out of reach of the Seagulls’ goalie.

Each team got a few more opportunities before the fourth quarter ended, bringing the game to sudden-victory overtime.

This brings us to the game’s hero: Allie Palumbo. Palumbo, the team’s leading scorer, did what she had done all season, which was scoring a goal in the biggest moment.

“I beat one defender and saw open space,” Palumbo said. “I then dribbled into the circle, looked up, and saw Jenna [Gray] to the left of me. Then I realized I had the shot, so I took it.”

For her coach, there was never a doubt about what was going to happen.

“I saw her basically say, ‘I’m going to take this ball, and no one is going to stop me,’” Andre said. “As soon as it went off her stick, I knew it was going in.”

After the goal, Gray was the first one to reach Palumbo, leaping into her arms in an embrace. Then came the rest of the team running in, celebrating together, eventually piling up on Palumbo.

“It was surreal,” Palumbo said. “We definitely worked hard, and I am so proud of all my teammates. But honestly, it’s just surreal.”

For Herman, it was a similar reaction.

“I honestly don’t even know what emotion I had,” Herman said. “This is something we’ve been working towards all season. Just seeing that ball hit the back of the cage and turning around and seeing Mariah I don’t know if I’ve ever felt that emotion before.”

This marks the second time in a week and a half that the Profs have come back from a deficit entering the fourth quarter.

“We have a lot of grit and a lot of guts,” Andre said. “When a team like that scores on you, you can fold. But we don’t fold. We could have folded back in September when things were up and down, but we kept going.”

With this win, the Profs have now won six in a row, beating the number two team in the nation with just two games remaining before the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs. This is a win they can ride the momentum off for a while.

“It’s such a great feeling,” Andre said. “It was something we always knew we were capable of. We’re competing and playing a top schedule. It’s great to know the hard work we put in is paying off, we’re peaking at the right time.”

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