BOSTON, Mass. -- The Simmons University field hockey team was defeated in overtime by visiting Johnson & Wales University, 4-3, today in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action on Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-9 overall, including 2-3 in league play, while the Wildcats improve to 4-9 and 2-2.

Simmons held a slight 17-16 shot advantage, but Johnson & Wales took the only two shots in the overtime period and also doubled up the home team in penalty corner opportunities by a count of 14-7. 

Senior forward Hannah Scott (Claremont, N.H.) led the Sharks offensive effort with three points on a goal and an assist. 

Junior midfielder Natalie Rivas scored 1:57 into overtime to give Johnson & Wales the win.

The Wildcats were awarded a penalty corner 105 seconds into the overtime period, before sophomore forward Jillian Miele (Wilmington, Mass.) fired a shot that was turned away by the Sharks keeper. Rivas collected the rebound just inside the circle on the left side and lifted a shot over the Simmons goalie and into the back of the cage for the game winner with 8:03 left in the extra period. 

Prior to Rivas' heroics, senior forward McKayla Weaver (Enfield, Conn.) paced the Johnson & Wales offense with a pair of goals for her first career multi-goal effort. Rivas also added an assist to give her three points on the day. 

Simmons took control the of the match early with a pair of goals coming 89 seconds apart within the first four and a half minutes of play. Senior forward Olivia Trull (Lowell, Mass.) collected a rebound off a shot from junior midfielder Maggie Fuzak (Buffalo, N.Y.) and fired a shot from the left slot into the far corner of the cage for her seventh marker of the year with 12:01 to play in the opening quarter. Sophomore forward Emily Plummer (San Diego, Calif.) found a rebound off a shot from Scott that was blocked and landed in front of the cage, where she converted her fourth goal of the year with 10:32 to go in the period. The Sharks held onto their 2-0 margin until Weaver scored a pair of goals late in the quarter to tie it for the visitors. 

Weaver's first goal of the afternoon came off a penalty corner opportunity where she unleashed a shot that was blocked but was deflected up and over the Simmons keeper with 2:21 left in the quarter. Weaver struck again when she re-directed a blistering shot from Rivas into the back of the cage with no time left on the clock on a penalty corner oportunity for the Wildcats. 

Neither team was able to score in the second quarter to leave the teams knotted at 2-2 at the intermission. 

The third quarter looked like it might end without a score as well, until junior forward Heather Lind (Wakefield, R.I.) sent a short cross inside the circle to classmate Rachel DeVore (Beltsville, Md.), who fired a strike from five yards out into the back of the cage on the left side to give Johnson & Wales a 3-2 edge with 2:21 remaining in the quarter. The Sharks countered less than two minutes later, when first year midfielder Maddie Beckwith (Winslow, Maine) connected with a short cross inside the goalmouth to Scott, who deposited the ball inside the right post for her first tally of the season with just seven ticks left on the clock to pull Simmons even at 3-3. 

Junior goalie Grace Pendergast (Berlin, Mass.) finished with seven saves to earn the victory for the Wildcats, while junior keeper Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) turned away 10 shots for the Sharks. Junior back Abby Anderson (South Yarmouth, Mass.) also came up with her fourth defensive save of the season. 

Simmons is in action again on Saturday, October 19 when it travels to New Haven, Conn. to play conference for Albertus Magnus College at 11:00 a.m., while Johnson & Wales returns to action on October 16 when it heads to Newport, R.I. to take on Salve Regina University at 6:00 p.m.,