Box Score Bangor, ME – A gutsy performance from both sides let to a 3-2 Husson victory over St. Joseph's college of Standish, Maine in the second of two sudden-victory overtime periods Wednesday night at Winkin Complex. Sabrina Vaillancourt collected from ten yards out and sped to the end line to tuck away the game-winner, her third of the night.
Less than a minute in to the game, Carly Denis rifled two shots within 20 seconds after a penalty corner from Carley Denis. Husson Goalie Maicee Gustin saved both. Denis saw the first score of the game, caging a goal just under five minutes into the contest on Rachelle Messuri's helper.
Four penalty corners and shot by Husson's Mariah Arno later, the Eagles lit up the home side of the scoreboard. Vaillancourt notched her fifth goal of the season unassisted as she got the better of Monks' goalie Taylor Allison.
The first half played out in a wash with the two teams tied 1-1 after one. St. Joe's earned the lead in shots after the period, 9-5 and in penalty corners 7-6.
Husson seemingly dominated the second half, however, out-shooting the Monks 10-5 and also attempted two more penalty corners, 5-3.
Eight minutes and a second into the second frame St. Joe's added another tally to regain the lead. It was Denis yet again putting one away as Rachelle Messuri passed to Denis to put the Monks up 2-1.
Husson had plenty of chances to knot the game at two-all. Things seemed to turn around for head coach Jen Johnstone's squad as she called a time in the 52nd minute to regroup. Kara Poirier, Amanda Stubbs and Liz Noddin all managed shots in the next 10 minutes as the Eagles seemed to be gaining momentum.
Vaillancourt put away the equalizing goal in the 67th minute, scoring on a broken play in front of the net with just 3:51 remaining in regulation. Just moments before the goal, Husson was awarded two penalty corners in a row, finally leading to Husson's tying goal.
Two minutes later Husson had to defend a St. Joe's corner, which was knocked out and given back to the Eagles. Vaillancourt had another opportunity on cage as Taylor Allison made a huge save for St. Joe's. Noddin had the final shot with 12 seconds to go, but it was blocked by a Monks' defender.
The first 15 minutes of overtime were played at a frantic pace under the seven-on-seven format. St. Joe's forced Gustin to make two more saves in the first five minutes of extra field hockey by way of Theresa Hendrix and once again Carley Denis. Allison made two more big saves of her own in the 77th and 78th minutes, keep the game tied at two.
The Eagles blasted four shots in the opening minutes of the second overtime period, one wide by Vaillancourt, one blocked and one saved from Logan Wilson, and another from Noddin which was also saved. Kara Poirier also had two shots saved in the waning moments by Allison.
In the 96th minute, Vaillancourt possessed and raced for the endline, speeding by her defender to shoot on cage. Allison made another game saving block for the Monks as it looked like the contest would end in a tie.
Vaillancourt got another opportunity on net just over a minute later and made it count, making almost the same move from moments earlier, seemingly baiting Allison out of the net as she drew closer to the goal. Allison finally made her step towards the stick of Vaillancourt and Sabrina tucked it nicely inside the near post for the sudden-victory. Vaillancourt scored all three Husson goals on the evening, playing nearly all 97 minutes of the game.
Johnstone said of tonight's effort: "The team showed such heart and determination tonight. To win against a team like St. Joe's shows just how much our athletes are committed to reaching their goals. Our fitness was a major player in our success tonight and is a testament to just how hard our team worked this summer and preseason. Sabrina was unstoppable and completely relentless. It was truly a solid total team performance."
The Husson win marks the first regular season victory for the Eagles in the past five seasons, as well as the fourth overtime bout between the two schools (including postseason) since 2009.
Both teams will be back in action this Saturday the 6th as Husson travels to U. Maine Farmington to take on the Beavers at 12:00pm and the Monks will be in Waterville for a 1:00pm start with Thomas College.
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