BOSTON, Mass. -- Simmons senior Rachel Wallace (Braintree, Mass.) found the back of the net twice in the final minutes of play to break a 10-10 stalemate and lift the #3 Sharks to a 12-10 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinal victory over the #6 Rivier University Raiders Wednesday evening.
Greer Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.) started things off for the Sharks offensively with a goal less than a minute into the first half. The Raiders Rebecca Wickens knotted the score at one off a free position shot and then gave Rivier the lead with another free position tally while playing a man up.
The Sharks tied the game at two when Megan Coffey (Wilmot Flat, N.H.) scored her first of the game with 14:36 remaining in the half. Coffey then put the Sharks up by one off a beautiful pass from Gilbert. Stephanie Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.) buried a shot past Raiders goalkeeper Danielle Moran with 6:29 remaining to give the Sharks a 4-2 lead but Wickens added her third goal of the half off a pass from Savannah Neuwirt.
In the last three minutes of the half, Hannah McGoldrick (Newton, Mass.) struck twice for the Sharks while Elena Reilly added one for Rivier as the time elapsed with the Sharks leading 6-4.
Rivier's Hannah Wyatt scored first in the second half to cut the Sharks lead to one but Coffey added her third goal off a pass from Oliveri for a 7-5 lead. Callie Warnock widened the gap to three with a goal of a free position shot but Paxton LaRocque kept the Raiders within two with 17 minutes remaining in the game. Wallace tallied her first of the game off an assist by Oliveri but three straight Raider goals, two by Lauren Brett and one by LaRocque, tied the game at nine.
Stephanie Oliveri regained the lead for the Sharks off a crease roll with 12 minutes to play but Wickens beat Simmons goalkeeper Crystal Derosier (Kingston, Mass.) on a free position shot to tie up the game again.
After a key draw control by Ashley Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.), Wallace rolled the crease from the right and found the top left corner of the net to give the Sharks an 11-10 lead. The Raiders regained possession but Seneca Martensson (East Longmeadow, Mass.) caused a key turnover to regain the ball for the Sharks before Wallace drew a free position shot and converted for an insurance goal. Sheehan won the final draw and the Sharks played keep away for the final minute.
Simmons netminder Crystal Derosier made nine saves on 19 shots for the win, while Danielle Moran made eight saves in the loss. The Sharks held a slight advantage in shots, 30-28 and ground balls, 16-15 but dominated on the draw with 17 wins to the Raiders 7.
The Sharks move on to the GNAC Semifinals where they will face #7 Norwich University, who upset the #2 seed Emerson College 9-8 in 2OT. The game is set for Friday, April 26th.