It took an extra session against Easton, but the Whitehall field hockey team found the combination they needed in overtime to nail down their third win of the season.

Kassidy Cunningham provided the game winner, as the Zephyrs left Easton with a 3-2 victory, preserving their unblemished record. It was set up by a beautiful pass from Kylee Cunningham.

Head coach Jennifer Bodnar said that Kylee Cunningham really took the team on her shoulders in that overtime period, culminating in that pass that sent them back home with a win.

Easton entered the game 2-1, their last win a 4-2 victory over Nazareth. Bodnar believed this was going to be a good test for her team, and the back-and-forth action proved that assumption correct as they traded goals during the regular session.

“It was a real competitive game,” said Bodnar after the game.

While it was competitive, she felt they left some goals out on that turf.

“I think we had a lot of missed opportunities that we could have capitalized on,” said Bodnar.

Those missed opportunities extended to corners as well as shots, with Whitehall.

She said their inability to convert those opportunities allowed the Red Rovers to hang around a little longer.

Still, they rose to the occasion and found the back of the cage after exerting all that energy on a day where temperatures soared into the mid-90s.

“I’m really proud of the girls effort,” said Bodnar. “I’m proud that they didn’t give up. They could have got discouraged at that point, but they really dug down deep and wanted it. That was really nice the way they came together.”

She said they scored their first goal quickly, but then Easton answered right back to tie the game. However, Whitehall followed with a goal to go up by one, but once again the Red Rovers managed to score the equalizer, setting the stage for overtime.

Bodnar said that while they never trailed, Easton managed to always find a way to even things up, matching Whitehall’s intensity.

“They were relentless, but I think we were too,” said Bodnar.

While it wasn’t a perfect game, they played well enough against a talented team to earn the win.

“In the end we got the win, so I’m happy,” said Bodnar.

Cara Bonshak had the first two goals for the Zephs. She now has six goals on the season, scoring at least one goal in each of their three games.

Bodner said they also played good team defense, with goalkeeper Kayla Nailor turning away two shots to help keep her team undefeated. So far this year, the Zephs have allowed just three goals underscoring the strength of their back line.

She said the lessons they’ll take from this game will be capitalizing on their opportunities. There were too many missed chances, and with a team as talented and well coached as Easton, those missed opportunities could have won them the game in regulation.

“We did well,” said Bodnar. “We definitely want to improve on things, but at this point in the season, they’re a really, really good team, so we’ll definitely take this.”

In their previous game against Freedom, the Zephs won 5-1.

Kylee Cunningham had a hat trick, while Bonshak and Kassidy Cunningham scored the other two goals.