Dartmouth women top UNH in OT

Aly O'Dea scores golden goal in second straight game

September 26, 2008

Dartmouth freshman Aly O'Dea continued her hot streak with her second straight overtime game-winner as the Big Green took a 2-1 win over New Hampshire in double-overtime Thursday night.

The win improved the Big Green to an astounding 16-0-1 in their last 17 outings against the Wildcats.

Dartmouth dominated the game, particularly in the second half and overtime, taking a season-high 28 shot attempts to New Hampshire's 10. The Big Green came out of the gates hard, attacking in New Hampshire's defensive half early and often.

Dartmouth's first attempt of the game came in the fifth minute after Kelsey Quick moved the ball up the right side and crossed it in to Myra Sack. Sack headed a shot on goal but UNH keeper Nikki Golding was there to make the stop. Katie Davis had Golding on her heels in the ninth minute when she shot from long range and the UNH keeper just punched it out.

Davis finally cracked through seconds later, scoring her first collegiate goal with a good header from the top off the box off a corner kick from Quick.

UNH tied it up soon after in the 14th minute when Stephanie Gilkenson forced a turnover in midfield and passed the ball up to Shaunna Kaplan. Kaplan was all alone on the left side and beat a diving Laurel Peak with a low shot to the far post.

Peak prevented a UNH rally second later with a big save from point blank range against Sara Hourihan.

Peyton Tata nearly put Dartmouth back on top when she fired and had Golding beat but hit the far post. Becky Poskin had a great break in the 20th minute when she went for a header but just skimmed the bottom of the crossbar.

Peak was on her toes and ready for UNH's next sequence of attacks, making two big saves to keep the Wildcats from going ahead. Dartmouth dominated for much of the half, holding an 11-5 shot advantage but took a 1-1 tie into the half.

The Green got off three threatening shots in the first five minutes, with two from O'Dea and one from Maggie Goldstein, but could not find the back of the net. Dartmouth continued to pressure UNH as the half wore on and the Wildcats' only real chances came off of cleared balls.

The Big Green gave itself plenty of chances to score but struggled to finish. Poskin nearly put the Big Green ahead after a back and forth rumble in the box, but her shot went just wide. Dartmouth got two long-range throw-ins from Thea Sutton that went into the box in the 83rd minute, but her teammates could not capitalize. Davis nearly added to her tally in the 85th minute when she found herself open with a clear path to the goal but her attempt went just wide.

Senior back Whitney Odden kicked into high gear in the second half, making some great runs out of the defensive end. UNH managed to keep Dartmouth at bay despite the Big Green's 11-4 shot advantage in the second half and the teams went to overtime.

O'Dea had the golden goal in her sights with a straightaway shot in the 93rd minute but sent it just high. Dartmouth earned two-straight corner kicks soon after and created chaos in the box but was unable to score. Jennifer Williams nearly won it in the 97th minute but Golding made a great point-blank save to preserve the tie.

The Big Green kept up the pressure in the second overtime and it paid off when O'Dea scored her winner after a cross from Davis in the 105th minute. O'Dea had the extra-time winner against Oregon State last Sunday.

Golding finished an impressive outing with 12 saves to keep UNH in the game while Peak had five for Dartmouth.

The Big Green opens the Ivy League season on Sunday when it hosts Brown at 2:30 p.m. at Burnham Field. The Wildcats return to action Sunday also when they hit the road to kick off their conference schedule with Binghamton.

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