SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Lotte Kanters found Catalina Pistaccio for the championship winning-goal in the first overtime period on Sunday afternoon, as the Valkyries defeated Mount Olive 2-1 in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship game at Weisiger Stadium.
 
"All I can say is wow," Converse University head field hockey coach Valerie Clarke said, "This is a dream team, with a dream season, with a dream ending. Everyone was bought in from day one, with a goal of making sure the Division II world knew that Converse Field Hockey was here to prove we belong. I fully believe that we just accomplished that."
 
The win on Sunday afternoon secured the Valkyries second SAC Tournament Championship in program history. With the win the Valkyries also reset the school record for wins in a single-season with 17 and they ended Mount Olive's nation leading 14-game winning streak in the process. The Valkyries are now 4-0 in postseason games played at Weisiger Stadium.
 
Catalina Pistaccio earned SAC Tournament MVP honors and a spot on the All-Tournament team after she scored four goals this weekend. Lotte Kanters, Julia Matthijssen and Josephine Jense were also named to the All-Tournament team for their performances on the pitch this weekend.
 
The Valkyries dominated and controlled the pace of the game from start to finish on Sunday afternoon. Converse outshot the Trojans 3-0 in the opening quarter as each team took turns dribbling the ball into their offensive third of the pitch. With eight minutes to go in the second quarter, Nikki Bos found Railyn King for the first goal of the match.
 
The Valkyries seemed unphased by the early goal by Mount Olive as they continued to batter the Trojans goalie with shot-after-shot. With around two-minutes to play before the halftime break, Aubree Dorsey found Luisa Fasold for the equalizer.
 
Throughout the second half it was a tight contest between the two squads as neither team yielded an inch on either side of the midfield stripe. Converse outshot Mount Olive 4-0 in the second half but they were unable to convert on their five corner opportunities in regulation.
 
Once the game went into overtime the Valkyries continued to control the pace of the game. With just three minutes gone in the overtime period Kanters found Pistaccio for the game-winner as the Valkyries bench stormed the field in celebration.
 
 
Game Leaders:
 
Goals Scored – Catalina Pistaccio (1), Luisa Fasold (1)
 
Assists – Lotte Kanters (1), Aubree Dorsey (1)
 
 
Next Up:
This concludes the 2022 Field Hockey Season, for all the latest information on the Converse Field Hockey team log onto govalkyries.com.
 
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