Silverman OT goal leads Huskies past L'ville

The No. 5 UConn field hockey team defeated No. 16 Louisville in an exhilarating match that went into two periods of overtime. Saturday. After scoring the first two goals of the game, UConn allowed two goals, forcing the game into overtime. Fortunately, sophomore Cara Silverman had enough energy left to score the game-winning goal in the 97th minute of play.

Allison Angulo had her best performance of the season in Saturday's victory. She scored her first ever career goal by deflecting the ball behind the goalie in mid-air.

"It was pretty surprising; it's hard to score from my position," Angulo said.

Angulo also assisted Cara Silverman in the game-winning goal with a feed from the corner.

Loren Sherer assisted Angulo's goal, keeping her point streak alive. However, Sherer's goal streak came to an end as Louisville's tight coverage and a fantastic performance from Cardinal goalie Heather Bustanoby ended many of Sherer's opportunities.

UConn put up 10 shots in the first half but capitalized on only one goal. Meanwhile, Louisville remained shotless.

"We had 33 shots [in total] and it wasn't a matter of poor shots that kept us from capitalizing, but the goaltender had a career day," Stevens said.

After scoring the second goal, it appeared the Huskies had taken complete control until the Cardinals rebounded with a goal exactly four minutes later.

"They were 0-1 in the conference and 0-2 was staring them in the face," Stevens said. "With that you would want to get on your horse and go. Once we got the 2-0 lead they sensed the immediacy of the situation and played stronger than we did from that point on."

Louisville continued to outplay the Huskies in the second half and scored yet another goal to tie the game 2-2.

Connecticut allowed a suspenseful penalty corner within the final seconds of regulation. Angulo was there to sacrifice her shins by attempting to block the shot, forcing the game into a 7-on-7 overtime period.

In the first five minutes of overtime, Louisville created several scoring opportunies but couldn't capitalize. Soon after, Cardinals top goal-scorer Hayley Turner was then charged with her second yellow card of the game after falling onto of Loren Sherer in a physical play. The Cardinals would then play with five players and one goalie for the remainder of play.

"They played heroically with a man down," Stevens said. "They are so sound defensively that we needed to release the ball sooner and were often forced hold on longer."

Senior goaltender Andrea Mainiero later made a spectacular glove-side save off a penalty corner with less than one minute left in the first overtime period.

In the second period of overtime, UConn created ample opportunities but was consistently denied by the Louisville goalie.

"Their goalie had 19 saves, she gave them a chance to stay in the game and possibly win it," Stevens said. "She and her defense get tremendous credit for their efforts."

At 96:25, Angulo carried the ball into the corner and threw the ball to the front of the goal where Cara Silverman buried to win the game.

"When I got the ball to Cara it was luck and hard work that got us the goal, but it all worked out in the end," Angulo said.

The Huskies are now 9-0 for the second consecutive season.

Louisville was the first team to defeat the Huskies last year. When asked about the differences between this year's team and last year's team, junior Mellissa Gonzalez said, "We have the same ideas and fundamentals, we want to come out strong, not be underestimated, and be nationally recognized." Gonzalez played tremendously in the midfield winning almost all of her 1-on-battles with terrific ball-handling skills.

UConn will play Quinnipiac this Tuesday in Hamden, CT. The Bobcats have only one win on the season which they achieved against Holy Cross. The Huskies defeated Holy Cross 4-1 earlier this year.