Zubkus' Overtime Tally Lifts No. 5 Field Hockey to Thrilling 4-3 Win at No. 8 Bentley
MERRIMACK STARTS 2013 VICTORIOUS ON CHRISTINE ZUBKUS OT WINNER
Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Sophomore midfielder Christine Zubkus (Dover, N.H.) buried a loose rebound just over five minutes into the first overtime session to lift the No. 5 Merrimack College field hockey team to a thrilling, 4-3 road victory against No. 8 Bentley to open the 2013 season on Thursday night at the Bentley Turf Field in Waltham, Mass.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 4, Bentley 3 (F/OT)
Records: Merrimack (1-0) | Bentley (0-1)
Location: Bentley Turf Field | Waltham, Mass.
How It Happened
After allowing host Bentley to tie the contest at three goals apiece with three minutes to play in regulation, Merrimack soared out of the gate in the sudden-death overtime session, reeling off three shot attempts over the first four minutes.
Then, in the 76th minute of the contest, senior Jessica Otis (Pittsford, N.Y.) put a shot on net that Bentley netminder Katie Kelley turned aside. But waiting to pounce was Zubkus, who had already assisted on Merrimack's third goal of the game, and the sophomore midfielder buried the loose ball into the boards to send the Warriors off in walk-off fashion.
What They Said
Head coach Anne Rounce: "I'm extremely proud of the effort we displayed tonight. After working hard throughout the offseason, we showed great mental toughness and tenacity tonight.
"Despite giving up the late goal, we stayed poised and positive, and that's a credit to the girls to maintain their composure and come right back and win it in overtime against a very, very good Bentley team. We'll learn from what we did right and wrong tonight and prepare for another very difficult road test at another very strong team in East Stroudsburg."
Goal Summary
- Merrimack opened the contest with a goal from sophomore Katrina Squeri (Chelmsford, Mass.), who put the visitors ahead just 4:06 into the game after deflecting a shot from Otis
- Freshman Hannah Magerman (Franklin, Mass.) made it a two-goal with her first collegiate marker at 19:55, scoring on a scramble in front of the net
- Bentley closed out the half with a Leah Winer tally, bringing the hosts to within a goal at the intermission
- Meghan Talerman tied up the match 12 minutes into the second half on an unassisted strike, but senior Candace Waldie (North Andover, Mass.) responded seven minutes later to push the Warriors on top, 3-2, on a feed from Zubkus
- Becca Moore provided late heroics for the hosts with the game-tying strike with exactly three minutes to go, taking a feed from Sally James on a scramble following a penalty corner to send the game to overtime
- Zubkus won it for the visitors on a rebound at 75:26, completing a three-point night for the Dover, N.H., native
A Closer Look
- Merrimack out-shot the hosts by a 17-10 margin, putting 13 on net
- Otis and Waldie led the way with a team-high four shot attempts each, with Waldie putting all four on target
- Sophomore Madison Davis (San Jose, Calif.) produced two saves for the visitors in her first collegiate start, and senior Sarah Dunbar (Hubbardston, Mass.) came up with a big defensive save in the first half to keep the Warriors ahead at the time
- Bentley held a slight 9-8 edge in corners
- Kelley finished with a game-high nine turnaways for the hosts
Up Next
Merrimack continues its challenging early season schedule with a trip to the Keystone State on Saturday, Sept. 7, when the Warriors battle ninth-ranked East Stroudsburg at 1 p.m.
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