Lynch scores in OT to help Dover field hockey beat Exeter, return to D1 final (video)

EXETER - The Dover High School field hockey team looked like it was in bad shape when went into halftime of Wednesday's Division I semifinal against Exeter.

Down two goals, the Green Wave were looking at a big hole to come back from, but just like Michael Myers, they weren't dead yet.

As a layer of fog rolled over the field at Bill Ball Stadium, Dover methodically came back to life, cutting the lead to one midway through the third quarter.

And then Erin Lynch delivered the final body blows, tying the game with just over three minutes left in regulation and then adding the game winner moments into overtime to give No. 2 Dover a 3-2 comeback win over No. 3 Exeter.

"We don’t want to go home," Lynch said. "We know what it takes to work hard, and we do that day to day. That’s what we had to do, we knew it was going to take work, we had to get more connected, more intertwined on the field, and I think that’s what we did. We worked as a team and that’s what made us successful in the end."

The win puts the defending D1 champions in the title game for the third time in five years, as the Green Wave (15-2-1) will look to get their second championship in a row at 3 p.m. Saturday against No. 1 Keene at Bedford High School.

Hannah DeRoy also scored for Dover, giving a shot by Gabby Anderson an extra push on its way to the goal, and Kaela Robins picked up an assist on each of Lynch's goals. Scarlett Gray finished with five saves.

Olivia Levitsky had a goal and an assist for Exeter (14-4) and Alexa Zaimes also scored while Olivia Amarosa recorded an assist. Amalia Gloss had four saves.

After a scoreless first quarter where neither team had a penalty corner or a great scoring chance, the Blue Hawks picked up both of their goals in transition, take advantage of breakouts with the Green Wave scrambling back defensively.

That 2-0 lead for Exeter held up until halftime, but during the break, there was no panic from Dover.

"It was similar to when we played Exeter here in the regular season, but we were down 3-0 at half," Dover coach Sarah Michaud said. "I said we’ve been here before and at least we’re not down three. Exeter is an amazing team. (Exeter coach) Deb Grott is a fantastic coach, so I knew going into this, it was going to be a fantastic battle. It just comes down to that extra bit of grit. You’ve got to dig down deep and find that extra effort."

The Green Wave started the second half strong, keeping the ball in the Blue Hawks' end for long stretches, and finally were rewarded with a corner midway through the third quarter.

After the ball moved around the circle, Anderson ended up with it to the right of the goal. Her shot made its way in, but as the defense came over to play it, it looked like it might not have enough steam.

DeRoy was near the goal line, and before an Exeter player could get to the ball, she gave it the final push over into the cage to make it 1-0 with 6:07 left in the third.

Dover kept the pressure on, but wasn't getting any closer to tying the game. Finally, after an unsuccessful corner with just over four minutes to play, Michaud called a timeout, and made a lineup adjustment and a change on the Green Wave's corner, if they got another one.

"I moved one of my backs to forward to try to generate a little bit of a spark in our offensive circle," the coach said. "We have to score right now. With four minutes left, we have to score. We decided to change up the side we were running (the corner) from."

Moments later, Dover got a corner, and Robins sent the ball in to Lynch, who took the shot, looking to get a tip or deflection. Instead, the ball found the backboard and tied the game with 3:04 remaining.

"It was a nice, hard shot in, and that’s all you’ve got to give, and something will happen," Lynch said. "Your teammates are there to help you and it just happened to work in that moment."

With the game going to overtime, Michaud knew the Green Wave needed to get and maintain possession right away.

"In overtime, it’s all about how long you have possession and we couldn’t afford any turnovers," she said. "I said to them the first team that gets a corner is going to win."

Dover got the ball early, got the corner, and this time, Lynch was shooting to score, and she did, with 8:32 remaining in the extra session.

"It’s a little bit similar (to the previous corner), but there’s more space, since there’s only three defenders and the goalie," the senior said. "You just have to look at the space, find the open lane, put the shot there and it happened to go in."