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| Kerri Sullivan's goal with less than five minutes left in the first half changed the tone of the game, sending the Skyhawks into the Northeast-10 Semifinals on Saturday. |
Skyhawks Rally To Advance To Conference Semifinals
Easton, Mass, - Junior Claire Hourihan (East Amherst, N.Y.) capped an unbelievable comeback with her 20th goal of the season midway through the first extra frame, catapulting host Stonehill to a 3-2 win over visiting St. Michael's in the quarterfinal round of the 2008 Northeast-10 Field Hockey Championship on Wednesday afternoon.
Hourihan's goal, which came off a feed from classmate Stephanie Kott (Rutland, Mass.) at 78:45, sends the Skyhawks into a semifinal matchup with the tournament's top seed, UMass-Lowell on Saturday beginning at noon.
Things started off as if they would end similarly to last season when the Purple Knights came to Easton and knocked off the Skyhawks in the opening round of the tournament. Andrea Slaven (Danvers, Mass.) got St. Michael's on the board less than ten minutes into the contest when she went around her defender and sent a shot past Skyhawk netminder Courtney Osier (South Dennis, Mass.) and nestling it in the left corner of the cage.
The Purple Knights were back at it again a little more than three minutes later when sophomore Kaleigh Ferrari (Millbrook, N.Y.) found the most opportune time to score her first collegiate goal.
Trailing 2-0 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half, Stonehill broke through when senior Kerri Sullivan (Goffstown, N.H.) sent a shot past Jordan Smalling (Essex Junction, Vt.) that cut the St. Michael's lead in half.
The Skyhawks, after peppering Smalling with shot after shot, finally tied the contest when senior Laura Nimon (Gardiner, Maine) took a feed from sophomore Michaela Deasy (North Falmouth, Mass.) and sent it into the upper right corner at the 60:01 mark.
Smalling was exceptional in defeat, turning away 15 Skyhawk shots in nearly 79 minutes of action for the Purple Knights who end their season at 11-8 overall.
Stonehill and the River Hawks met twice during the regular season with UMass-Lowell taking a 4-2 decision in September and a 2-1 overtime verdict later in the month.
The Skyhawks, who have now put together two six-game win streaks this season, now stand at 13-7 overall.