Box Score
WALTHAM, Mass. – Michele Schrift scored her second goal of the game 1:38 into overtime to complete a come-from-behind victory, lifting No. 5 West Chester to a stunning 4-3 overtime win over top-ranked UMass-Lowell at Bentley College Saturday afternoon.
Schrift dribbled into the circle and beat UMass-Lowell goalkeeper Melanie Hopkins early in the overtime period, ending the River Hawks’ 24-game win streak that dated back to November 2009. UMass-Lowell (0-1) dropped its season opener. West Chester (2-0) returns home after a very successful weekend.
Trailing 3-1 with 10 minutes left in the contest, West Chester scored 49 seconds apart to tie the game with eight minutes left. Leah Angstadt scored off a penalty corner with assists credited to Kelsi Lykens and Stef Pirri. Nicole Fiorilla then deflected in a shot off another corner shortly thereafter to knot things up. It was Fiorilla’s second goal of the weekend.
“We had to regroup at halftime,” first-year head coach Amy Cohen said. “We had problems inserting the ball on corners in the first half. We switched to (Pirri) in the second half and finished off our corners.
“Today, we learned that if you keep competing and play with some heart, then good things will happen.”
UMass-Lowell came out of the gates strong, jumping on top 2-0 just 18 minutes into the game. Both goals came following corner opportunities.
Schrift finally got the Golden Rams on the board with her first goal of the game just 17 seconds into the second half. She collected a loose ball and banged in a goal from eight yards out.
The River Hawks’ Annie Hansbury (1G, 2A) restored the defending national champs’ two-goal lead five minutes later.
Kristin Arnold registered 10 saves in the cage to pick up her second win in as many days. Hopkins made seven stops for UMass-Lowell.
West Chester will host No. 3 Bloomsburg on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at Vonnie Gros Field at 4 p.m. in its home opener of 2011.
