The Pine Bush Bushmen and the Pine Plains Bombers were less than five minutes from battling to a tie game.
Pine Bush senior Kailey Fobert had other plans.

Fobert’s goal with 4:45 remaining in double overtime gave the Bushmen a 2-1 victory over the Bombers on Wednesday at Alumni Field at Pine Bush High School.

“It was insane,” Fobert said. “I was crying out there. It was so emotional. It was exhausting. It was a really hard game and that was probably the best feeling in the whole world, just having it end and knowing that I won for my team was amazing. I could not be more proud of myself and my team for that.”

Fobert was the reason the Bushmen made it to overtime.

With the Bombers leading 1-0, a third quarter penalty corner led to Fobert’s first goal of the day. With 12:36 remaining in the third quarter, Fobert scored off an assist from Meaghan Wishinski to tie the game at 1-1.

“That first goal always gives us hope,” Fobert said. “We may not do as well in the first quarter, but as soon as we get that first goal, immediately, the drive is there, and we all just lock in, and we work together.”

The Bushmen had a few more opportunities in the quarter to net the go-ahead goal, but Abigail Hansen’s goal rolled wide to the left. The Bushmen had a penalty corner with time expired in the third quarter but were unable to convert.

Then, after a scoreless fourth quarter, the teams went into overtime.

“It’s not a great feeling (going into overtime),” Fobert said. “We were definitely a little discouraged by the ones not going in, but our team definitely helped us get our spirits up, and the adrenaline kicks in, and the drive just immediately is there, and you just push through anything.”

The Bushmen had opportunities in the first overtime period, keeping the ball in the Bombers’ defensive zone.

They were unable to convert a penalty corner with about nine minutes to go in the period and another shot by Hansen went wide.

But as the game went into the second overtime, the Bushmen were knocking at the door.

“I was a little worried that their legs might give out,” Pine Bush coach Samantha Schwartz said. “We made one substitution, but I knew that fire was in them. They had that intensity, and it was just a matter of time before they got one in.”

About halfway through the second overtime, Fobert did her work, sending the Bushmen home happy.

“She’s been on fire recently,” Schwartz said. “She had a hat trick on Monday in her senior game, (a 4-0 win over the Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors), and she had both goals today. She has just grown so much as a player and taken on a lot under high pressure situations.”

The Bushmen finished the week on Friday with a 7-0 road loss to the Rondout Valley Ganders. They will play a key Class A matchup on Wednesday when they host the Kingston Tigers at Alumni Field.

“They just keep getting better,” Schwartz said. “Every single game, they’re playing together as a good, cohesive unit, and they’ve been in tough situations, which is really helping them gain that experience under pressure. I think they’ll be just fine.”