Morrissey becomes third Ravens player to post a hat trick with three second-half tallies

Boxscore

RINDGE, N.H. (October 10, 2007) – Despite a career-high three goals from Raven freshman Emily Morrissey (Hubbardston, Mass./Quabbin Regional), Brittany O’Brien (Stowe, Vt./Stowe) scored the game-winning goal 1:06 into overtime as Saint Michael’s College narrowly escaped with a 4-3 overtime win over Franklin Pierce University in a Northeast-10 Conference women’s field hockey match on Wednesday evening at Sodexho Field.

Morrissey tied the Franklin Pierce single-game record for goals with three, a total matched only by Debbie Jones ’03 on two occasions and Chelsey Munson ’04, who was the last Raven to post a hat trick on Sept. 11, 2004 against American International. Sophomore Ashley Abernethy (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham) assisted on two of Morrissey’s goals for her first career multi-assist game.

For Saint Michael’s, Andrea Slaven (Danvers, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) scored twice to raise her conference-leading total to 16, while Chelsea Kimball (North Berwick, Maine/Noble) also found the net before O’Brien scored the game-winner.

All three of Morrissey’s goals came in the second half, as the Ravens climbed back from a two-goal deficit on two occasions to force overtime. With 7:15 elapsed in the second half, Abernethy sent a set piece from the far left into the middle of the circle, where Morrissey deftly deflected the pass into the lower right corner of the net for her second goal of the season.

After Slaven notched her second of the game to make the score 3-1, Morrissey shocked the Purple Knights with two goals in a span of 4:52 to send the game into overtime. A mere 12 seconds after Slaven’s goal, Morrissey took the ball down the right side and fired a shot that got past Saint Michael’s goaltender Jordan Smalling (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) to bring the Ravens back within one. Abernethy and Morrissey hooked up again less than five minutes later, as Morrissey took the rebound of an Abernethy shot attempt and beat Smalling to tie the game at three at the 58:15 mark.

Both teams had plenty of chances after Morrissey’s goal, but neither team could capitalize. With 7:03 left in the second half, Raven graduate student Mary Beth Huszar (Greenville, N.H./Mascenic Regional) found herself open at the left post, but her deflection just missed to the outside of the right post. Then, with seven seconds remaining in regulation, Saint Michael’s midfielder Hannah Wolfe (Bow, N.H./Bow) found herself one-on-one with freshman goaltender Tevis Hannington (Canton, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) off a penalty corner attempt, but Hannington made a leaping save to keep the game tied at the end of regulation.

Saint Michael’s gained control to begin overtime, and the Purple Knights escaped with the win after Kaitlin Koffink (Goffstown, N.H./Goffstown Area) found O’Brien behind the Raven defense and O’Brien beat Hannington to the far post.

Franklin Pierce (1-14, 1-11 NE-10), which played in its conference-leading fifth overtime game of the year on Wednesday, will return to action on Saturday morning, when the Ravens kick off Alumni Reunion Weekend against Southern Connecticut State at 11 a.m. at Sodexho Field. Saint Michael’s (5-10, 5-8 NE-10) will take on Merrimack Sunday at 3 p.m.