BOSTON, Mass. – Senior forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, NH) scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner to lift the Simmons College field hockey team past visiting Johnson & Wales University in double overtime, 3-2, today in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match on Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks win their third straight match and fourth of their last five to improve to 4-2 overall, including 2-0 in league play, while the Wildcats fall to 1-3 and 0-2.
Simmons owned a 23-11 shot advantage and dominated the opportunities in the extra periods with a 9-2 margin, including 6-1 in the second overtime period.
Sophomore forward Olivia Trull (Lowell, Mass.) possessed the ball after a turnover on the left side of the circle, where she fed a streaking Saltamartini. The senior carried the ball into the box and maneuvered behind the Johnson & Wales keeper, before depositing a shot into the back of the cage, with 3:55 left in the second overtime, for her third goal of the season and 15th game-decider of her career for the Sharks.
Saltamartini wasted no time in opening the day's scoring for Simmons, taking the ball into the box and blasting a hard shot across the goal line just two minutes into the contest.
The Wildcats controlled the offensive opportunities for the rest of the half, outshooting the home team, 7-4, for the period. JWU took the lead later in the period, courtesy of a pair of goals from junior forward Adriana Scala (Valley Cottage, N.Y.). Her first strike came on a scrum in front of the cage, where she took advantage of the Sharks' goalie being off her line, as her shot into the right corner tied the match at 1-1 with 18:50 left in the opening half. Her second tally and fourth of the year came with just 1:48 showing on the first half scoreboard to give the visitors the lead. First year midfielder Mackenzie DeLaney (Virginia Beach, Va.) inserted the ball off a penalty corner to Scala, who brought the ball into the goal mouth and scored.
The Simmons defense tightened up for the remainder of the match, holding the Wildcats scoreless for the final 36:48 of regulation and 26:05 of overtime. In the meantime, the Sharks tied the match at 2-2 with 23:31 left in the second half. Junior forward Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) sent her insert cross to a waiting Ana Giarrusso (Hingham, Mass.) at the top of the circle, where she blasted a shot past the JWU keeper and into the cage for her first marker of the season. The teams were scoreless for the remainder of the half, despite Simmons holding a 10-2 shot advantage.
First year keeper Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) made seven saves to earn the victory for the Sharks, while junior goalie Claire Nolan (West Bridgewater, Mass.) stopped eight shots, including five in the overtime periods, for Johnson & Wales.
Simmons returns to action on Tuesday, September 19 when it hosts Wheaton College (Mass.) at Daly Field for a 7:00 p.m. match, while the Wildcats host Worcester Polytechnic Institute on September 20 at 7:00 p.m.