Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The University of New England converted two of its shootout tries through four rounds and Holly Smith denied three attempts while forcing another wide, as the Nor'easters notched a 2-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) field hockey victory over Western New England University on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 17) at Golden Bear Stadium.

Deadlocked at 1-1 through 100 minutes of action, the teams entered a best-of-five shootout series with alternating turns. Marge Gardiner struck first for UNE and Smith followed with a save to give the visitors an early cushion. After neither side found success in the second wave, Vonde Saunders doubled the margin (2-0) for Big Blue and Smith backed it up with another stop. Both goalies made multiple saves to keep the fourth round clean, and seal the result for the Nor'easters.

UNE (11-5) stays on top of the CCC standings at 8-1 with the decision, while Western New England (6-7) drops to 3-5 in league games. The Nor'easters have now taken each of the 14 all-time meetings between the programs.

There were minimal scoring chances in the first overtime period, although Brittany DeLima had a point-blank look for the Golden Bears with a few minutes left that Smith safely blocked away.

In the second extra session, UNE had the majority of play (5-0 in shots, 9-0 in penalty corners) but could not break through. WNE netminder Grape Trupe posted a pair of stops in the stanza and received a defensive save from Kaitlyn Labbe to help keep things even.

Labbe and Katherine Ferrari both aided Trupe in 1st-half action with goal-saving efforts to maintain a 0-0 scoreline after 35 minutes. The Nor'easters led 6-0 in shots and 9-1 in corners during the frame.

The live-action scoring came in the 2nd half -- first by WNE (52nd minute) and then knotted up by UNE (61st minute). The Golden Bears found the back of the cage off a penalty corner, as Allison Jackson scored with an assist from Michelle Carlson. Big Blue's first shot following the deficit was the equalizer, as Kersey Boulay netted a feed from Nicole Matarozzo, also off a corner.

For the game, UNE finished with a 17-6 advantage in shots and 23-5 in corners. Smith recorded three saves protecting the Nor'easters' end, while Trupe logged nine stops for WNE.

It was the first time since 2007 that Big Blue had competed in a game that went beyond double overtime.

UNE will continue its CCC schedule next Friday (6 p.m.) at Nichols College.