Goucher Rallies Late, Falls in OT at Stevenson

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — When Goucher and Stevenson met at Beldon Field last fall, the Gophers were held to just two shots in a 3-0 shutout defeat, and for the first 67 minutes of tonight's rematch it appeared that there would be a similar outcome.

The Mustangs held a 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard while again limiting Goucher to a pair of shots on goal. The Gopher offense, however, sprung to life late, with Lizzie Barminski (Ventura, Calif./Buena) and Kristen Shklanko (Huntingdon Beach, Calif./Edison) scoring in the final 2:57 of regulation to send the match into overtime.

Goucher, though, could not translate that momentum into a victory, as Caitlin Dempsey fired in a sudden death winner with 15 seconds left in the first overtime session to give Stevenson a hard-earned 3-2 victory.

"I'm so proud of the girls for a full team effort," head coach Megan Williams said. "To force overtime and to play competitively throughout against a team like Stevenson is a testament to how hard we are working this season and how far we've come as a team."

It took only 1:33 into the first half for the Mustangs (4-1) to jump out in front. Holli Eppley took a pass from Dempsey and directed a shot past Gopher goalie Demie Huffman (Granville, Ohio/Granville) to help her team grab the early lead.

That would be the only goal in the opening 35 minutes. Stevenson entered the break holding a 6-2 advantage in shots.

That margin widened during the second half, with the Mustangs generating the first 12 shots of the frame. It wasn't until the 11th of those shots, though, that they were able to beat Huffman. Alison Kagel tipped in a long distance effort with just over 12 minutes remaining to double Stevenson's advantage.

Caroline Less (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) picked up Goucher's first shot of the half with 5:41 left on the clock, and the Gophers gradually gained momentum. Goucher earned three consecutive penalty corners, and Barminski broke the shutout with under three minutes to go, firing a shot past Corl Kosko from the left side.

The Gophers continued their pressure, and Shklanko leveled the match on a scramble following a penalty corner. She took a cross from Barminski and forced the ball past Kosko for her first career collegiate goal with only 57 seconds left in regulation.

That sent the game to overtime, where the teams traded chances throughout. Each earned a pair of penalty corners, and Barminski made a diving block midway through the session to break up a 2-on-1 before Dempsey ended things with her sixth goal of the season right before the buzzer.

Huffman finished with 11 saves in goal. Barminski now has a team-high eight points this season after her three-point performance this evening.

With the defeat, Goucher (3-1) fell short of its first 4-0 start since the 1995 NCAA tournament bound squad started its season with five consecutive victories. The Gophers will look to get back on track this Thursday when they host Immaculata in a 7 p.m. contest from Beldon Field.