No. 8 Field Hockey Falls in Overtime

Sept. 16, 2011

Chestnut Hill, Mass. - Eighth-ranked Boston College lost, 4-3, in a hard-fought, overtime battle with third-ranked Maryland in the ACC season opener. The Eagles move to 5-2 (0-1 ACC) on the season, while the Terps improve to 6-1 (1-0 ACC).

Graduate student Anna Wetherall had a break-out game, scoring her first two goals of her Boston College career. The Eagles took a lead into halftime, but the Terrapins quickly tied it in the second half and went ahead before Wetherall scored on a breakaway with less than two minutes to play to send the game into overtime. BC held strong in the 7-on-7 extra period until the 78^th minute, when Maxine Fluharty scored her second goal of the game, just poking it past senior goalkeeper Nicole Barry. Barry finished the game with a career-high seven saves.

Fluharty started the scoring in the ACC matchup with an unassisted score at the 23-minute mark in the first half. The freshman dribbled through the circle and took a hard shot into the lower left corner to open the game. BC answered back less than 10 minutes later when senior Carla Tamer notched her sixth goal of the season on a penalty stroke. The Eagles then took the lead three minutes later as Wetherall and sophomore Nicole Schuster executed a give-and-go into the circle to give BC a 2-1 lead going into halftime. Schuster tallied her third assist of the season.

The Terps quickly tied the contest, scoring less than two minutes into the second half. Barry made an initial save off a shot from a Maryland corner, but Megan Frazer put the rebound in to tie the game in the 36^th minute. Nine minutes later, Katie Gerzabek gave the Terrapins a one-goal lead off another corner as she tipped in Ali McEvoy's shot.

Sophomore Virgynia Muma nearly tied the game with 26 minutes to play on a breakaway, but her shot was inches wide of the net. With five-and-a-half minutes to play and trailing by one, head coach Ainslee Lamb called a timeout and pulled Barry for an extra field player. The Eagles were already playing down a player from a yellow card issued earlier. Junior back Kara Mackintire made a key defensive save to keep the Eagles within striking distance with five minute to play with an empty net behind her. With just over one-and-a-half minutes to go, Wetherall scored to even the game, tallying the equalizer on a fast break, slamming the ball into the corner of the net.

With only 45 seconds in regulation, Maryland was awarded a corner, but senior Courtney Tavener blocked the shot to send the game into OT. Barry continued to rack up the saves in overtime, making a key kick save on a shot by Jill Witmer with eight minutes to play and blocking one from Frazer on a corner. At the 78:54 mark, with just over a minute to go in the first overtime, Fluharty tipped in Jemma Buckley's cross in front of the net for the win.

The Eagles travel to Storrs, Conn., to take on No. 4 Connecticut on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m.

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Team Stats

Anna Wetherall

Carla Tamer

Nicole Schuster

Emma Plasteras