PAXTON, Mass. – Anna Maria junior Nichole Lowe notched the game-winning goal at 10:43 of the second overtime to lead the Anna Maria College field hockey to a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Simmons Sharks Thursday night at AMCAT Field. With the win the AMCATS move to 7-4 on the season while Simmons dips to 5-4 overall.
Lowe ended the game in the 95th minute of play when she took a feed from Beauregard and beat Simmons goalkeeper Carolyn Baremore (East Lyme, Conn.) for the AMCATS seventh win of the season.
Simmons absolutely dominated play in the first half, outshooting Anna Maria 15-0 and held an 11-0 advantage on the penalty corners. However the AMCATS defense stayed strong as goaltender Mary Kate Breen played her best game of the season posting 15 saves.
Anna Maria broke the scoreless tie on their first shot on goal of the contest, Beauregard streaking down the right side, laced a hard pass to Lapierre in front of the Sharks goal, she tipped home the blast, beating the goalie low right side.
Trailing 1-0, the Sharks poured on the heat in the offensive zone. In a mad scramble in front of Breen, freshman Mary Neidhart (Middlefield, Conn.) poked a loose ball into the goal to tie the game with just under eight minutes to play in regulation. The Sharks put the ball in the net two more times in the second half but the goals were recalled. After two complete, Simmons held a dominating edge in shots 24-3 and in corners 22-2 but the game remained tied.
Anna Maria dictated the play in first overtime, pressuring the ball in the Sharks zone for the opening ten minutes. Nevertheless, it seemed as Simmons would capture the win when with just seconds on the clock a Gabrielle Henderson's (Dover-Foxcroft, Maine) shot snuck past Breen, but out of nowhere freshman Kaitlyn Moran dove across the goal for a defensive save. Amy Cronin (Georgetown, Mass.) had anothe opportunity when she split the AMCATS defense for a one on one with Breen but her shot went just wide.
The Sharks return to the field on Saturday, Sep. 28 at home when they face Johnson & Wales at 1:30 PM.