NEWTON, Mass. - Junior forward Jenna Gagnon (Waterville, Maine) scored with less than nine minutes left in regulation to send the match into overtime, but the Simmons College field hockey team's comeback fell short as host Lasell College scored just over nine minutes into the extra period to come away with a 4-3 victory this afternoon at Grellier Field in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match in Newton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Lasers improve to 2-3 and 2-0.
Simmons held a 19-9 shot advantage and dominated the second half by a count of 13-3, while also owning a 7-1 margin in penalty corners during the period.
Lasell's offense began the match red-hot, scoring three times in the first 27 minutes, but for the remainder of regulation, it was all Sharks as they scored once before the first period and twice more in the second stanza to knot the game at 3-3.
Cailin Flannery made a quick cross to Christina Wilson for her second tally of the year and the game-winning marker at 79:15 in overtime for the Lasers.
Facing a 3-0 deficit, Simmons pulled itself off the turf and began its comeback when sophomore forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) scored her team-leading seventh goal of the year at 28:53 of the first half to put the Sharks on the board at 3-1. Simmons scored the only two goals of the second half, sparked by sophomore back Maizy Wagner's (Chester County, Pa.) first goal of the season on a rebound shot at the 54:25 mark. Following a yellow card on the home team, junior midfielder Amy Wilson (Falmouth, Mass.) found Gagnon for her first tally of the year on a shot to the bottom left of the cage at 61:33 to pull the Sharks even at 3-3. Neither team was able to score in the final eight and a half minutes, despite three shots from Lasell. Junior forward Mary Neidhardt (Middlefield, Conn.) fired a shot on the cage for Simmons, just 45 seconds before the extra period game-winner, but it was stopped by the Laser's goalie.
Lasell opened the scoring just 2:18 into the contest when Flannery scored on a breakaway to give the home team a 1-0 edge. First year midfielder Julia Franzik (Wallingford, Conn.) scored the next two markers to give the Lasers a 3-0 lead. Her first score came on a feed from senior midfielder Ashlee Pechulis (Westfield, Mass.) at 13:27 and later found the back of the cage for her third goal of the season at the 26:36 mark for Lasell.
Junior goalie Brianna Rastell (Salem, N.H.) made two saves for the Sharks, while sophomore keeper Denise Landry (New Milford, Conn.) turned away seven shots to earn the victory for the Lasers.
Simmons completed a seven-match road trip and will open its home slate on Tuesday, September 22 when it hosts Wheaton College at 7:00 p.m. on Winsor Field, while Lasell hosts Salve Regina University on the same day at 4:00 p.m.