NEWTON, Mass. (10/18/16) – Sophomore Cailin Flannery (Medford, N.J.) scored eight minutes into overtime to lift the Lasell field hockey team over Western Connecticut State 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon at Grellier Field.
Flannery's goal was scored off a helper from freshman Samantha Taylor (Hanover, Mass.), as the Lasers converted on their second overtime game this season and advance to 10-6 overall. The Colonials drop their third extra time contest this year and drop to 4-12 with the loss.
Each team scored a goal in both halves, as sophomore Julia Franzik (Franklin, Mass.) put Lasell on the board first at 6:33. Trailing 2-1 with 2:08 left to play in regulation, junior Erica Connors (South Berwick, Maine) found the back of the net for Lasell to force the non-conference affair into overtime.
The Lasers put pressure on early with a sequence of four penalty corners within the opening ten minutes. Connors swung into a power shot to try and get Lasell on early, but Western Connecticut junior Greta MacConnell (Norwalk, Conn.) was there for the defensive save, her first of the year. Franzik then collected the ball in front of the net from a rebounded shot by Flannery, and tucked it in past Colonials senior keeper Kristy Trotta (Danbury, Conn.) for the 1-0 lead.
The Colonials saw an opportunity to get on the board in the 21st minute by sophomore Olympia Moulton (Baldwinville, Mass.) but junior goalkeeper Denise Landry (New Milford, Conn.) denied the shot with a highlight reel save, jumping into the air to keep the Colonials at bay.
Western Connecticut found the back of the net at 31:17 off a feed right in front of the net by freshman Carly Matasavage (Middlebury Conn.) to senior Brianna Reda (New Milford, Conn.), netting her third goal of the season.
The contest would stay at a deadlock until the 58th minute, when Matasavage scored her second of the game on a converted rebound by McConnell to put the visitors up 2-1. After what was a scoreless half for Lasell, Flannery struck a shot to frame but was shut down on a defensive save by junior Erika Wixted (New Fairfield, Conn.). However, Lasell remained composed, as Connors capitalized to tie the game with her third marker of the season.
On the 7v7 overtime frame, Taylor sent a ball up field to the feet of Flannery, who netted her 11th goal of the season and granted the Lasers the overtime victory.
Landry was credited with the win in the cage for Lasell, saving eight shots on net to advance to 10-6 overall. Trotta suffered the loss in the decision despite an 18-save performance, and drops to 4-12 on the year.
Lasell owned the stat battle in shots (31-14) and penalty corners (16-5).
The Lasers will travel to Framingham State College on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. for their last regular season preparation before GNAC playoffs commence. The Colonials will host UMass Dartmouth on Saturday in honor of their graduating seniors with game time slated for 4:00 p.m.
