Dart scores in OT to give Souhegan win over Goffstown in D2 field hockey quarters (video)

AMHERST - In the biggest moment, Ori Dart remembered what she'd been taught.

If the goalie comes out to challenge a play, just spin away.

With seconds remaining in Sunday's Division II field hockey quarterfinal, Dart spun away and it paid off.

The spin left Dart looking at an open cage and the freshman's goal with 3.4 seconds remaining in overtime gave No. 4 Souhegan a 2-1 win over No. 5 Goffstown and a return to the D2 semifinals for the fifth year in a row.

The Sabers will take on top-seeded John Stark, which advanced with a 3-2 win over Portsmouth, at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

Dart's goal came after Souhegan (12-2-2) had been unable to capitalize on a number of opportunities in the second half, and after the teams had traded scoring chances throughout the overtime.

Goffstown (11-4-1) tried to get the ball into the Sabers' circle in the final minute, but Souhegan's Caitlin Ridings broke up the play and got it going in the other direction. The junior sent the ball outside to Ari Goulet, who carried it down the sideline and into the Grizzlies' end.

From there, Goulet sent a pass into the circle and Dart and Goffstown goalie Molly Braica got to the ball at almost the same time. With Braica away from the goal, Dart was able to collect the ball, turn and sent a shot into the cage.

"I got a really nice drive from Ari (Goulet)," Dart said. "The goalie was kind of pressing me, so I spun and took it on the reverse. (Braica) is one of the best players. I was always taught, if a goalie presses you, spin around and then get open for that shot. That goal is wide open, it doesn’t matter the speed, the shot just has to go in."

Emily Facey also had a goal for Souhegan, as she scored with 5:18 left in the first half to tie the game at 1. Amelia Warecki came up with three saves, but two of them were on breakaways in overtime where Goffstown could have ended the game.

"Amelia was so composed and couldn’t have put the ball in a better spot," Souhegan coach Kelli Braley said. "It led to a quick transition up the field. Maddie Lim was big on the recovery there as well."

Ava Jones had Goffstown's goal, as she redirected a shot by Avery Brisiel past Warecki with 4:22 left in the first quarter to give the Grizzlies the lead. But from there until the overtime, Goffstown struggled to get any scoring opportunities.

"It was great to have that lead, but we knew there was 45 more minutes," Goffstown coach Jess Brown said. "It was just a matter of seeing if we could get back down into their circle, which we didn’t create many more of those opportunities. I think if we had, we could have put more in, but Souhegan did a good job keeping us out of their circle.

"It’s just disappointing to be on this side, especially when we had some good opportunities in overtime. It’s a fantastic way to win and it’s a tough way to lose, especially when it’s the end of your season."

Despite its offensive struggles, Goffstown's defense was able to keep it a tie game in the second half. Souhegan had just three penalty corners in the half, but had a handful of other chances that the Grizzlies turned aside.

Braica finished with eight saves, including two at the start of the third quarter and one on a corner with no time left going into the fourth.

"After we got through the first quarter, which was definitely not great, our girls got back to the stuff that they do best," Braley said. "We got lucky that Goffstown only put that one (goal) in, and I think it woke us up, too, because after that, they weren’t in our circle again until the overtime.

"I love that we were able to pick ourselves up and persevere and continue to press on for the last three quarters. A tremendous amount of credit to Goffstown’s defense and Molly (Braica) who makes it so difficult to put anything in. It wasn’t for lack of trying on our part. They had an answer for a lot of it."

Souhegan had another corner early in overtime, but couldn't capitalize and Goffstown was able to break out the other way. Jones found Sam Dery behind the Sabers' defense and the senior went in alone on Warecki, but the sophomore goalie was able to come up with a save.

Moments later, Dery had another opportunity, but again Warecki came up with the stop. After two more corners for Souhegan, Goffstown got the ball into the Sabers' end, but one more attempt to get in the circle was broke up and led to Dart's goal.