BOSTON, Mass. - The Simmons College field hockey team erased a 2-0 first half deficit, but was edged in double-overtime by visiting University Massachusetts Dartmouth, 3-2, this evening at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 10-7 in their regular-season finale, while the Corsairs improve to 7-11.
Junior midfielder Erin Kish (Littleton, Mass.) sent a feed from the left side of the circle off a corner to senior forward Katelyn Morrissey (Taunton, Mass.) in the near slot for a one-timer that found the back of the cage for the game-winner for UMass Dartmouth with 8:05 left to play in the second overtime.
Simmons owned a 24-12 shot advantage and held a 12-11 edge on penalty corners for the game.
The Corsairs scored a pair of goals to take a 2-0 halftime lead, before the Sharks tallied two markers of their own in the second half to send the contest into extra periods.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, junior forward Sammy Rondeau (Franklin, Mass.) found classmate Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) with a short cross in front of the cage for her team-high 19th goal on the season. The marker cut the margin to 2-1 with 25:34 left to play in the second half for Simmons. The Sharks knotted the match at 2-2 with 15:55 to go in regulation when senior forward Jenna Gagnon (Waterville, Maine) carried the ball into the left slot, where she converted a back-handed shot for her second goal of the year.
Simmons looked to end the game with no time left on the clock at the end of the first overtime when sophomore midfielder Ana Giarrusso (Hingham, Mass.) fired a shot, following a penalty corner, that clanged off the left pipe to leave the match tied and send the contest into double overtime. Prior to UMass Dartmouth's game-ending score, the Sharks fought off a two-minute penalty, holding the visitors without a shot and later saw their keeper turn away a pair of shots in the closing minutes before the final penalty corner that set up the winning marker.
UMass Dartmouth got on the board 18 minutes into the match when first year midfielder Katrina Perry (Raynham, Mass.) collected the ball in the circle and fired a shot inside the far post for her first collegiate goal and a 1-0 lead. The Corsairs padded their lead to 2-0 with just 67 ticks left in the opening half when Morrissey sent a centering cross to junior forward Delaney Burns (Wayne, N.J.) for her team-best 14th goal of the season.
First year keeper Ariel St. Germaine (Wareham, Mass.) earned the victory for UMass Dartmouth, stopping 12 shots, including five in overtime, while senior goalie Brianna Rastello (Salem, N.H.) made five saves for Simmons.
The Sharks host a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m. on Daly Field, while the Corsairs will be in action again when they travel to Wellesley, Mass. on October 27 to take on Wellesley College at 4:30 p.m.