Box Score

Montclair, NJ (11/9/11) – Sophomore Brittany Carroll (Kingston, NY / Rondout Valley) scored on a reverse chip with 8:38 remaining in the second overtime to lift Montclair State to a 3-2 victory over Rhodes College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship at Sprague Field on Wednesday.

Senior Devin McNamara (Mount Royal, NJ / Gloucester Catholic) scored two goals as Montclair State (19-2) rebounded for the victory after Rhodes tied the game with 46 seconds remaining in regulation. Carroll finished with two assists and also had a key defensive save late in the second half.

Montclair, which is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance, now advances to the next round where it will face Salisbury University (17-1) in Maryland on Saturday, November 12 at 10:00 am.  Messiah faces the winner of Ursinus/Christopher Newport in the other contest on Saturday with the winners squaring off on Sunday, November 13 (1:00 pm) for a berth in the Final Four on November 19-20 at Nichols College in Massachusetts.

Freshman forward Kat Simpson (St. Louis, MO / University City) had a goal and assist for the Lynx, who ended their season at 11-7. Rhodes was making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance in just its 14th year as a program.

Montclair State started off strong putting a goal on the board in the first four minutes as McNamara recorded the first of her two goals. Carroll took a reverse chip in the middle from 10 yards out that McNamara was able to redirect for the goal as the Red Hawks grabbed a quick 1-0 lead.

MSU would outshoot the Lynx 14-0 in the first half however they were unable to get another shot past junior goalkeeper Jordan Robinson (Houston, TX / Kinkaid) until the final four minutes when the Carroll-McNamara connection struck again. Carroll centered a pass to McNamara, who banged in the shot inside the left post for her 16th goal of the year as MSU led 2-0 at halftime.

In the second half however, Rhodes began to change the momentum with plenty of possession in the MSU defensive end before breaking through. Simpson set up Katie Faucher (Jefferson, MA / Tabor Academy) for a five-yard shot on the right side as Rhodes cut the lead to 2-1 at the 44:29 mark.

Rhodes would keep the pressure up and nearly got the tying goal with 1:30 remaining. Off a penalty corner, Regan McLaughlin (Fairfax, VA / W.T. Woodson) took a shot from the left side that got past keeper Megan Bosland (Boonton, NJ / Boonton) only to be knocked away by Carroll standing just off the goal line.

Forty seconds later, the Lynx knotted the contest as Faucher’s shot was kicked away by Bosland. The ball bounced right back to Faucher, who was able to slip a pass to Simpson in front for the goal as the contest headed into overtime.

In the first overtime, Montclair nearly won the game as Carrroll intercepted a clearing pass inside the circle however her shot went just wide. Carroll and Chelsea Keelen (Tinton Falls, NJ / Middletown South) put forth shots later in the period but Robinson, who finished with 11 saves in the game, batted away both those as the game went to a second sudden-victory period.

After Rhodes moved the ball down toward the offensive end, Montclair was able to clear and pushed the possession back the other way. Brooke Hullings (Delran, NJ / Delran) carried the ball to within 30 yards on the left side before firing a cross-field pass to Carroll just outside the circle 10 yards out. Carroll got around a defender and attacked from the right side before spinning and reverse-chipping the ball past Robinson for the game-winning goal.

Bosland finished with two saves for Montclair State, which outshot Rhodes, 23-5. The Red Hawks also held a 9-5 advantage in penalty strokes.