DANBURY, CT — Senior Jenny Cappello (Litchfield, Conn.) scored ten minutes into the second overtime period to give the Western Connecticut State University field hockey team a thrilling come from behind victory over Little East Conference rival Bridgewater State University Saturday afternoon at the Westside Athletic Complex.

With 14 minutes played in the first half, Bridgewater State got on the scoreboard when junior Brittany Cullinane (Lunenburg, Mass.) worked the ball around three Western defenders on the right side, moved inside the arc, and beat the Western keeper low to the right side to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

Western's best chance to tie the score in the first half came with about six minutes remaining in the half.  The Colonials earned four straight penalty corners, keeping the ball pinned in the Bridgewater State end of the field, but none of the Western shots found the mark and the score remained 1-0 in favor of Bridgewater State going into the locker room at intermission.

At the 61:22 mark of the second half, Western tied the score at 1-1 when the Colonials converted a penalty corner opportunity.  Sophomore Greta McConnell (Norwalk, Conn.) played the ball at the end-line and delivered a pass to senior Heidi Odenwaelder (Goshen, Conn.) outside the arc.  Odenwaelder quickly passed to senior Kristy Matasavage (Middlebury, Conn.) who drilled a shot past the BSU keeper to tie the score.

Neither team managed to find the net for the remainder of regulation, and the game headed to overtime.

The first overtime period resulted in no goals, and Bridgewater State earned the first scoring opportunity in the second minute of the second overtime period when Cullinane broke into the Western zone undefended on a fast break.  Western's keeper, junior Kristy Trotta (Danbury, Conn.) rushed the shooter and made the save, and then made a second save when Cullinane rebounded her first shot and shot again.  Trotta's heroics kept the score tied at 1-1.

Ten minutes into the second overtime period, Western earned a penalty corner that was taken by Matasavage.  Her pass moved quickly outside the arc to Cappello who took one step to move the ball back inside the arc, and unleashed a shot that went over the shoulder of the Bridgewater State keeper and into the goal to give the Colonials a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over the Bears.

For the game, Western held a 22-18 advantage in shots and also finished with a 12-7 edge in penalty corners.  Trotta finished with eight saves (four in overtime) for Western to earn the win, while junior Kaylyn Allahyarian (Norwell, Mass.) recorded four saves in a losing effort for Bridgewater State.

With the win, Western improves to 6-8 on the season, and 3-5 in the Little East Conference.  Bridgewater State falls to 7-7, 4-4 in the LEC.  The Colonials return to action on Tuesday, October 20, when they travel to play Fitchburg State.  Game time is slated for 7:00pm.