Dartmouth still kicking after rally

JESSICA GRAY Scores for S. Heart

Dartmouth's girls' soccer team has been playing catch-up all season.

After falling behind fourth-seeded Bridgewater-Raynham by a goal in the first six minutes of the Division 1 South first-round match, yesterday was no different. And just like they have all season, the Indians, seeded 20th of 21 teams, found a way to win, this time taking a 1-1 game into a shootout and winning in penalty kicks, 3-1.

After an eligibility issue with a transfer student forced the Indians to forfeit four games at the start of the season, the team needed to win three straight Old Colony League games to qualify for the state tournament. They accomplished that, and then beat New Bedford, 1-0, Friday night to set up their third game of the season with the Trojans.

Junior Lauren Hopp scored the tying goal five minutes into the second half, and goalie Dana Sylvia made 10 stops to force the first overtime. After 20 minutes of extra time yielded no scoring, Dartmouth scored on three of four chances in the shootout, with freshman Molly Brown and sophomores Kelsey Leandro and Hilary Andrews finding the net. Sylvia stopped three B-R attempts to clinch the win.

Coach Mark Poirier said the season has become something of a lucky streak for the Indians (7-8-1).

"We were lucky to get there in some ways, though we did win those last three games, and last week I asked [the team] if they knew what it meant to play with the house's money. Since then that has kind of been our rallying cry," he said. "Look at this game today, it could have gone either way, so I felt fortunate."

Poirier was a bit nervous after falling behind, but knew the Indians just needed to keep it close.

"The thing I was most worried about was being down more than one goal. If you can stay within a goal you always have a chance to come back," he said. After forcing overtime, he told his team to just keep playing the way they had at the end of the game.

And while youth was a major factor in the offense today, Poirier is quick to credit his senior leadership for keeping his team on target during that stretch. Defenders Carolyn Merchant and Maggie Schoening and midfielder Kaitlyn Rita are the heart and soul of his team, and they kept Bridgewater-Raynham (12-3-3) from taking over the game.

Next up for the Indians will be fifth-seeded Marshfield, which beat Franklin, 1-0, on a goal by Kara Webber in the 23d minute.

Division 1 North: Masconomet had four goal scorers - from Monica Davis, Cait Clark, Melanie DiGregorio, and Madeleine Hardy - in a 4-0 win over Waltham . . . A goal by Mellisa Arn 13 minutes into the second half gave North Andover a 1-0 win over Concord-Carlisle . . . Catherine Lomedico and Satin Zarkar scored, leading Andover to a 2-0 win over Billerica . . . Westford's 4-2 win over Medford featured two goals and an assist from Alexa St. Martin . . . Lincoln-Sudbury beat Haverhill, 1-0, getting the winning goal from Kelly Cakert.

Division 1 South: Courtney Ryan scored in overtime - on an assist from younger sister Cory - and Norwood ousted North Attleboro, 2-1 . . . Meg Dempsey recorded her 11th shutout of the season and Erica Donnely added a goal and an assist as Weymouth handed Plymouth North a 3-0 loss . . . Whitman-Hanson received two goals from Kristie Mewis and one from Mary-Rose Griffin as the Panthers edged Needham, 3-2.

Division 2 North: Belmont scored off of three corner kicks, all taken by Meg Zolner, to beat Wilmington, 3-0. Katie Rausch scored the first goal and freshman Laura Thurber the other two . . . Ashley Sullivan scored an unassisted goal six minutes into overtime as Danvers beat Stoneham, 1-0 . . . Ellen O'Leary's second goal gave Bishop Fenwick a 3-2 win over Pentucket.

Division 2 South: Amanda Panaro, Julie Nutting, and Jackie Machaby recorded shootout goals to push Rockland past Duxbury, 2-1. Rockland goalie Steph Gordon had three stops in the penalty kicks . . . Pembroke beat Bishop Stang, 4-0, with Coco McDonough scoring the game's first goal.

Division 3 South: Hannah LeFevre scored three times to lead Sacred Heart (19-0) past Case, 6-1. Jessica Gray, Emily Bracken, and Kirsten Lawlor each contributed a goal . . . Ursuline upset South Shore Christian Academy, 3-1, when junior Brittany Sullivan scored twice and freshman Maggie Fisher once.

Division 3 North: Weston (6-10-4) used an overtime goal by Bridget McCurdy to beat Greater Lowell, 3-2. Annie Kenney and Courtney Davenport also scored for the Wildcats.

Boys' soccer

Division 1 North: Lincoln-Sudbury upset the No. 1 seed Peabody, 3-1, behind two goals and an assist by Cole DeNormandie . . . Framingham's Erick Nader scored in the 57th minute and goalie Luica Pignatiello recorded a shutout as the Flyers beat Medford, 1-0 . . . Westford beat Billerica, 2-0, on goals by Lee Russo and Tarun Subramanian . . . Woburn senior captain Matt Pereira scored twice to lead the Tanners to a 3-2 victory over Newton North.

Division 1 South: Mansfield's Ryan Chambers scored twice to lead the Hornets to 5-1 win over Barnstable . . . Brockton beat Xaverian, 7-1, getting two goals apiece from Jordan Branco, Mario Goncalves, and Ian Woods . . . Weymouth's Kyle Cronin scored twice and assisted on Tyler Oakes' goal in a 3-0 win over Dennis-Yarmouth.

Division 2 South: Mark Monroe and Paul Wallace each scored in the first 15 minutes, leading Nauset over Silver Lake, 2-0. Goalie Brett Conrad had eight saves for his 12th shutout . . . Canton beat Holliston, 3-1, with Chris Sullo's goal and assist leading the way.

Division 2 North: Marblehead beat Hyde Park, 5-1, behind the play of Simon Crowe (two goals, one assist), and Matt Frankel and Oliver Kim (two assists each).

Division 3 North: Hector Splendora's two goals led Lowell Catholic to a 4-1 win over North Shore Tech . . . Shawsheen senior Andrew Puccio scored the winner in the Rams' 2-1 victory over Rockport.

Division 3 South: Tim Parsons had three goals and an assist in Bourne's 5-4 win over South Shore Christian . . . Old Rochester rolled over Holbrook, 5-1, getting two goals apiece from Stephen Santos and Ross Ferguson . . . Jon Spitz and Tim Hurlburt scored in Hanover's 2-0 win over Old Colony.

Field hockey

Division 1 North: North Andover got three first-half goals - by Courtney Lynch, Kristen Steigerwald, and Krissy Whitley - to beat Lexington, 3-0. North Andover will play the winner of today's game between Reading and Lincoln-Sudbury in the semifinals . . . Hayley O'Brien scored once and Giselle Schlegel netted the game-winning goal in overtime to lead Acton-Boxboro to a 2-1 win over Waltham . . . Andover received two goals from senior captain Nina Yu, and a goal and an assist from Sarah Oteri to edge Needham, 3-2.

Division 1 South: Emily Painten's hat trick led defending state champion Walpole to a 6-0 win over Somerset and into the semifinals . . . Notre Dame of Hingham's 4-0 win over Barnstable was highlighted by Joanna Timmons's two goals . . . Wellesley defeated Falmouth in overtime, 1-0, with Michela Flanigan scoring the winner.

Division 2 South: Junior Meg Peck's 15th goal of the season helped West Bridgewater edge Mashpee, 1-0 . . . Canton beat Dedham, 1-0, on a goal by senior Catherine O'Brien.