ECAC DIVISION III FIELD HOCKEY TOURNAMENT - Dunn key as Saint Joseph's downs Wheaton during penalty-stroke shootout

November 7, 2007

NORTON, MA--- Freshman Alyssa Dunn (Standish, ME/Bonny Eagle) scored twice during a penalty-stroke shootout, including netting the winner, as fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine downed number four Wheaton College, 2-1 behind a 3-2 strokes victory during the first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Field Hockey Tournament on Wednesday at Clark Field. The Lyons, a 2006 tournament finalist, finished the year at 13-7. The Monks are 13-6 and host number eight Plymouth State University in a Saturday semifinal.

The majority of play during the opening half occurred in the midfield, and Saint Joseph's broke through first. Dunn received the ball off a penalty corner and slid a pass on the left side to freshman Courtney Rague (Old Orchard Beach, ME/Old Orchard Beach), who found the net with two minutes remaining in the opening half.

Wheaton tallied four straight penalty corners at one juncture early in the second half but fired off only one shot, and the sequence ended with senior Ashley Miller (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) sending a backhanded crossing pass through an open goal mouth to empty space. With 14:10 left in regulation, freshman Jessica Strock (Centerville, MA/Barnstable) tipped in the tying marker, finishing after junior Alisa Ardito's (Branford, CT/Branford) pass to the right post eluded the keeper. One minute later, the Monks nearly retook the lead, but freshman back Ashley English (Watertown, MA/Watertown) made a defensive save off junior Gina Gaetani's (Auburn, ME/Edward Little) bid. With seven minutes left, Lyon first-year keeper Cameron Abel (Windham, NH/Salem) came 10 yards out to twice deny sophomore Julia Ostrowski (Albany, NY/Guilderland).

The teams headed to overtime, where the Lyons held advantages of 4-0 in shots and 6-2 in penalty corners. Monk freshman keeper Kathleen Simoes (Wakefield, MA/Bishop Fenwick) came up with two crucial saves in the first overtime, first denying senior Sara Dimick's (Cumberland, ME/Greely) backhanded attempt with her right pad in the 75th minute. During the 82nd minute, Simoes stopped Miller's point-blank shot.

During penalty strokes, visiting Saint Joseph's shot first during the initial five-shot series, but Wheaton buried its first two shots to forge ahead, 2-1. Dunn knotted the competition on her team's third shot, and the Lyons missed their next three tries. In the second round of strokes, during which Wheaton shot first and the team leading after two shots won the game, each keeper saved an initial shot before a Lyon missed wide, setting the stage for Dunn's clinching tally despite Abel diving and getting a pad on the shot.

Wheaton held advantages of 9-7 in shots and 17-9 in corners. Abel and Simoes each made five saves.

SCORING: 1st 2nd OT 2OT Final
Saint Joseph's (13-6) 1 0 0 0 2
Wheaton (13-7) 0 1 0 0 1

1st Half: SJC- Courtney Rague (Alyssa Dunn) 33:00

2nd Half: WC- Jessica Strock (Alisa Ardito) 55:50

Penalty Strokes: WC- Ashley Miller 1, Alisa Ardito 1, Kim Anson 0, Lyndsie Ryalls 0, Sara Dimick 0, Ashley Miller 0, Alisa Ardito 0
SJC- Darcey Ward 1, Julia Ostrowski 0, Alyssa Dunn 1, Gina Gaetani 0, Kayla Nowell 0, Darcey Ward 0, Alyssa Dunn 1

Goalie Saves: WC- Cameron Abel 5; SJC- Kathleen Simoes 5

Shots: WC- 9; SJC- 7

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