Field Hockey Completes Comeback With OT Win at Brown, 4-3

Saturday, September 24

Providence, R.I.

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Brown

Field Hockey Plays Host to In-State Rival UNH Sunday Afternoon

Field Hockey Completes Comeback With OT Win at Brown, 4-3

9/24/2011 2:22:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Dartmouth

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week Ali Savage (Orange, New South Wales, Australia) scored eight minutes into overtime to lift the Dartmouth field hockey team to a 4-3 win Saturday afternoon over Brown at Warner Roof. Junior Maya Herm (Bethesda, Md.) had a goal and two assists in the come-from-behind win that featured three ties and the Big Green never holding a lead until the winner in the extra period.

The game was the first of the 2011 season to go into overtime for Dartmouth (5-2, 2-0 Ivy), who battled back from three different one-goal deficits in the game to pull even each time. Brown (1-6, 0-2 Ivy) matched their season high with three goals and looked on several occasions as if it might be able to defeat the Big Green for the first time in four seasons.

But it was not to be on this day for the Bears as Savage collected a rebound on a blocked shot eight minutes into the overtime period and slipped her fifth of the season past goalkeeper Shannon McSweeney for the winner.

"The game was what we expected, but not in terms of the goals we allowed," head coach Amy Fowler said. "It was an aggressive style of game that we were forced to play through and we did just that. We had to find a way to play our game and after a rough first half, we really settled in and played much better in the second half."

Brown's Meghan O'Donnell gave the Bears a 1-0 lead nearly 21 minutes in, scoring her first of the season and the lone goal of the first half. Despite taking 13 shots in the first 35 minutes of play, Dartmouth was unable to score. That inability to find the back of the goal did not apply for either team in the early goings of the second half.

Herm scored her third of the season six minutes into the second half, tying the game, 1-1.

It didn't stay that way for very long as Leslie Springmeyer once again gave Brown a one-goal advantage with the Bears' second tally of the day a minute and a half after Herm's equalizer.

Dartmouth responded with junior Samantha McPherson's (Ventura, Calif.) third of the season. Herm collected an assist on the Big Green's second goal in three and a half minutes and the third by either team in that span.

But as was the story of this game, for every Dartmouth goal, Brown seemed to have a response. O'Donnell's second of the contest came just five minutes after McPherson's and once again gave Brown the lead, 3-2.

Current Ivy League Player of the Week Kelly Hood (Berlin, N.H.) continued her dominating offensive senior season by scoring her ninth of 2011 with 16:30 remaining in regulation to force overtime. Junior Lisa Masini (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Herm picked up assists on the penalty-corner goal. Hood, who leads the league in scoring, has a goal in each of her team's seven games this season.

The Big Green finished the game with 35 shots (18 on goal), continuing their impressive offensive displays in recent games. Brown's McSweeney finished with 14 saves in the loss, while Dartmouth senior goalkeeper Meagan Vakiener (Port Murray, N.J.) had a season-high eight saves in her fifth win of the year.

Vakiener and McSweeney both recorded three saves in the eight minutes of extra play. Dartmouth also held a distinct advantage in penalty corners, 17-4, in the game and in the overtime period, 4-1.

"We feel like teams are looking to take us down with how we have started in the league this season," Fowler said. "Brown came out with a lot of emotion today and they played with tempo and their young keeper played well.

"But with that, I am very proud of this team for how we responded to the challenges they (Brown) presented. Today is something we can build on Sunday and moving forward," Fowler added.

There is little time to sit back and enjoy the victory, though, as Dartmouth will play host to Holy Cross Sunday at 3 p.m. at Chase Field in Hanover.