Syracuse University
William & Mary
William & Mary Edges Field Hockey in Overtime, 3-2
9/11/2005 4:14:07 PM | Field Hockey
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Sophomore forward Jessica Lerew (York Springs, Pa.) scored her first goal of the season with 29 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, but William and Mary prevailed by defeating Syracuse, 3-2, at Coyne Field.
The Tribe's Jamie Fitzgerald picked off a pass in the middle of the field near the top of the circle and took a quick shot that was deflected into the goal by Kelly Giles with 31 seconds remaining in overtime.
An evenly-played game in the first half, Syracuse had an 8-7 edge in shots, while William and Mary earned five penalty corners to the Orange's four. The contest was scoreless at halftime.
The action picked up in the second half. The Orange got on the scoreboard just 2:31 into the period when senior forward Paige Sullivan (Lebanon, Pa.) used a reverse-stick sweep to send the ball to the far right corner of the Tribe cage. It was her fourth goal of the season.
William and Mary tied it up 1-1 at the 47:07 mark when Shannon Karl pounced on a rebound that came off SU goalkeeper Heather Hess' (Lititz, Pa.) pads. The initial penalty-corner shot was saved by Hess, but Karl was there for the rebound.
The Tribe gained momentum and controlled possession of the ball for a short span in the second half. It went ahead, 2-1, with 17:32 remaining in the second half when Holly Niro was finally able to punch in a shot initially attempted by Karl.
Syracuse never quit. With time running down to approximately one minute remaining, senior midfielder Jessica Dahle (Farmington, Conn.) hit a solid pass down the left sideline to a wide open Lerew. Lerew dumped the ball in the corner for Sullivan, who worked her way into the circle by dribbling along the baseline. She passed the ball across the goal mouth and found a hustling Lerew who was able to stroke the ball into the cage with 29 seconds remaining in regulation.
In overtime, Syracuse earned two penalty corners, but could not capitalize. William and Mary goalkeeper Gwen Hunter had two saves in overtime to give her team a chance.
The Tribe outshot the Orange, 16-13, for the game. It had 10 penalty corners, while Syracuse had eight.
Hess finished with nine saves, while Hunter stopped seven SU shots.
William and Mary improved its season record to 3-2. Syracuse is now 2-3 and will next be in action at home on Friday, Sept. 16, when it opens BIG EAST Conference play against Rutgers at 7 p.m.
