Field Hockey Wins BIG EAST Opener Against Rutgers, 3-2

Friday, September 15

New Brunswick, NJ

7:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

Rutgers

Michelle Sola scored two goals in the victory.

Field Hockey Wins BIG EAST Opener Against Rutgers, 3-2

9/15/2006 10:27:33 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.Y. – The Syracuse University field hockey team overcame an early two-goal deficit to overcome Rutgers, 3-2, in overtime in the BIG EAST Conference opener for both schools. SU’s third consecutive win improves the Orange to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST. The Scarlet Knights fall to 3-5, 1-0.

After a back-and-forth first 17 minutes, Rutgers was awarded a penalty stroke. SU substituted in sophomore goalie Heather Hess (Lititz, Pa.), but RU sophomore Amy Lewis made good on the stroke anyway to give the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 lead.

RU added a second goal off a broken corner play when Catherine Badoloto brought the ball around to the right and fired through traffic, giving Rutgers a 2-0 edge just 2:18 before halftime.

However, Syracuse fought back in the second half and evened the score less than midway through the period. Sophomore forward Alison Babbitt (Spencer, N.Y) struck first, cashing in on an odd-player break at the 21:29 mark, followed by a penalty-corner goal from senior back Michelle Sola (Blandon, Pa.) with 18:25 remaining in the half.

For its second time this season Syracuse was forced to go into overtime. Syracuse began the period with possession of the ball, and moved straight down the field to draw a corner. Sola and senior back Jess Wreski (Middletown, Pa.) worked the ball back and forth, and Sola eventually shot, scoring just 50 seconds into the overtime to win the game.

Junior goalkeeper Marie O’Brien (Burlington, Ontario) earned her second consecutive victory in the cage for the Orange. She allowed only one goal, while making seven saves. Rosalyn Wentko made seven saves for the Scarlet Knights.

RU owned a 9-0 edge in penalty corners and an 8-6 advantage in shots during the first 35 minutes, but those numbers reversed during the second half, when Syracuse had a 4-0 corner and 9-1 shot edge.

“They totally outplayed us for the first 30 minutes, but we showed a lot of heart and guts. It was a great comeback for us,” head coach Kathleen Parker said. “We got an early penalty corner call in the overtime period and our execution was stellar.”

The Orange remain on the road for a 1 p.m. game against No. 18 Hofstra on Sunday, September 16.