Tied at 1-1, Babson’s Ashley Tango took a hard shot from the top of the circle that rocketed into the UNE cage, securing the hard-fought win just 2:31 into the second overtime period.
The Nor’easters looked sharp in the first overtime, winning the possession battle and applying pressure on the Babson defense. Despite the well-played period, UNE came out empty-handed.
“Some stuff was just not on our side today. We can only control the stuff that we can control, and some stuff is just uncontrollable. We had a ton of chances, especially in that first overtime, we just couldn’t find the back of the cage,” said UNE coach Danielle Collins.
UNE took an early 1-0 lead when Vonde Saunders scored on a pass from Nicole Matarozzo less than three minutes into the contest. Although the Nor’easters held on to the lead for the remainder of the half, the Beavers had the clear advantage the rest of the way and outshot UNE 13-4.
Both teams continued to battle during the early parts of the second half, with UNE holding off the heavy Babson attack.
The Beavers finally got on the board when Julie Mortimer sent a penalty stroke in the low corner of the cage, tying things at one apiece midway through the second half.
Babson outshot UNE 27-7 on the day, and also had a 21-7 advantage in penalty corners. UNE goalie Holly Smith had an impressive performance, finishing with 12 saves.
Despite the loss, Collins was happy with her team’s performance against a nationally-ranked opponent.
“They’re (No. 10) in the nation for a reason. For us to come in and get a double-overtime loss is pretty good. It will set us up well for the postseason and NCAA’s,” said Collins.
The Nor’easters fall to 15-3 on the year, however, maintain first place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with a 10-0 record. Collins felt that Tuesday’s loss also prepared her squad for the postseason intensity that is right around the corner.
“(Babson) is an NCAA-caliber team, this is the atmosphere it’s going to be,” said Collins. “If we can compete and have those chances to almost have the win then I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
The Nor’easters are back at it today against visiting Gordon, then finish the season on the road at Nichols later this week. UNE hopes to win these final two CCC matchups and head into the postseason on a high note.
“We’ve got to play tomorrow and be the team we know we are,” said Collins. “We’ve got to finish these last two games in the next three days and finish the CCC undefeated … then it’s a clean slate from there.”
— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282- 1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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