Field Hockey Edged by #5 Stonehill in Double Overtime 2-1
Field Hockey Edged by #5 Stonehill 2-1 in 2OT
Smithfield, R.I. - In one of the most entertaining hockey games this season, the Bulldogs lost a heart-breaker to fifth-ranked Stonehill 2-1 in with 1:30 remaining in double-overtime on Senior Night at the Bryant Turf Complex.
Kerri Sullivan found a loose ball in front of Kundayi Mawema (Hare, Zimbabwe) and shot it into the net for the game-winner.
Regulation was a game of two halves, as Stonehill outshot Bryant 8-0 in the first half and took the lead at 13:07 when Aly Boulis scored her tenth of the year.
But the Bulldogs came storming back in the second half outshooting the Skyhawks 10-2. Senior co-captain Laynie Sadler (Rehoboth, Mass.) tied the game with her 13th of the year, with the assist coming from Ashley Rebello (Oak Bluffs, Mass.). Courtney O'Brien (Tewksbury, Mass.) got the play started dribbling past three Skyhawks and getting the ball to Rebello.
The Bulldogs dominated the first overtime, which is played seven-on-seven, outshooting Stonehill 7-2. Their best chance came in the 77th minute, when Sadler missed the open net, after forcing Skyhawks goaltender Dani Ryder out of position. Sadler forced a penalty stroke, which was shot wide by freshman Caitlan Johnson (Walpole, Mass.).
Bryant had a penalty corner with no time remaining in the first overtime, but the Sadler-Johnson connection could not convert as they did against SCSU last Wednesday with the clock reading 0:00.
The Skyhawks found their legs in the second overtime, as the Bulldogs showed signs of fatigue. They managed five corners in the period to Bryant's two and finally converted on their fifth, as Sullivan found the loose ball in front of Mawema and won the game.
Mawema was outstanding throughout stopping 12 shots. Her defense, led by seniors Kristin Tighe (North Easton, Mass.) and Deanne Viveiros (Tiverton, R.I.) made many big stops on odd-man rushes in the extra sessions. Johnson and Rebello also played excellent two-way hockey, hustling back on every Skyhawk break in overtime.
Ryder stopped 15 shots for Stonehill and was the main reason they escaped with the victory.
Before the game, Sadler, Tighe, Viveiros, and Michaela Dwyer (Buskirk, N.Y.) were honored as part of senior night.
Bryant (10-8, 8-6 NE-10) will finish the regular season at Franklin Pierce (Thursday, 6 p.m.) and at AIC (Saturday, noon), before the Northeast-10 Tournament begins on November 1st.