Seahawks rally past Bears in a shootout, 2-1

NEWPORT, R.I. - Freshmen Kelly Burke (Georgetown, Mass.) and Kelly Allan (East Killingly, Conn.) each scored shootout goals and senior goalkeeper Devin Eppley (Darien, Conn.) recorded 18 saves as the Salve Regina University field hockey team defeated Bridgewater State College 2-1 in a shootout Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action at the Lawrence Avenue Field.

Trailing 1-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, senior Andrea Michel (Yarmouth, Maine) fired a shot from the top of the circle that deflected in off the stick of Burke for her conference-leading ninth goal of the season at 64:47. The two teams played a scoreless 30 minutes of overtime and resulted in the first shootout of the season for the Seahawks.

Michel opened the shootout by hitting the right post, but Eppley answered by stopping Bears senior Kelly Downs (Hanover, Mass.). Allen followed with a shot high into the right corner of the cage to give SRU a 1-0 advantage, and after Eppley denied Bears freshman Shelby Farland (Fiskdale, Mass.), Burke also scored to the right of junior goalkeeper Kate Weber (Arlington, Mass.) to give Salve Regina a 2-0 edge in the shootout. Eppley then stopped freshmen Carissa Vizakis (Bellingham, Mass.) and Katelyn Taylor (West Bridgewater, Mass.) to seal the win for the Seahawks (5-4).

"That's a great comeback win for us," said Salve Regina head coach Jen Eldridge. "We made some adjustments in the second half and possessed the ball better. To play that many minutes and come out on the winning end is very rewarding. Our freshmen really came through for us in the shootout."

The Bears outshot the Seahawks 30-8 for the game - including 13-2 in the second half and 11-3 in the overtimes - but Eppley was the difference. She stopped seven shots from BSC junior and leading scorer Bethany Bush (Littleton, Mass.), and the Bears lone goal came at 53:11 off the stick of freshman Kathryn LaCroix (Gloucester, Mass.). Bush was credited with an assist on the goal, LaCroix's first career tally.

Weber finished with four saves for the Bears, who slipped to 4-2 on the season.

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday when they host Regis at 1 p.m.