Eva Michaliszyn (l) and Meghan Talerman scored for Bentley at St. Michael's
Eva Michaliszyn (l) and Meghan Talerman scored for Bentley at St. Michael's

Michaliszyn Gives Bentley 3rd Straight Overtime Win

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Bentley University Falcons recorded their third consecutive overtime win when freshman Eva Michaliszyn (Media, Pa./Penncrest HS) netted her third goal of the season 6:12 into the first extra period to give her team a 2-1 walk-off over St. Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference field hockey Tuesday afternoon at Duffy Field.

With the win, Bentley kept its chances for an NE-10 playoff berth alive. The Falcons, with one contest left (Saturday at Southern New Hampshire), moved into a tie for seventh in a conference where six teams qualify. They trail Franklin Pierce, currently the number six team, by one-and-a-half games and could also potentially catch Assumption.

Off a rare Falcon penalty corner, Bentley junior Sally James (Mequon, Wisc./Univ. School of Milwaukee) fired a shot that was denied by Purple Knight senior goalie Jackie Chisholm (New Braintree, Mass.).  Michaliszyn controlled the rebound and sent the ball into the cage, making the long bus ride home for the Falcons much more pleasant.

Bentley maintained a 1-0 deficit for a large portion of the game after junior Meghan Talerman (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable HS) scored her sixth of the season with eight minutes left in the first half, with the assist provided by classmate Kelsey Howard (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough HS).

Despite numerous chances for the home team, the 1-0 lead stood up into the final minute of play, until sophomore Carolyn Avery (Lexington, Mass.) scored off a penalty corner with just 29 seconds to play.

Junior Katie Kelley (Walpole, Mass./Walpole HS) finished with ten saves for the Falcons, including three in overtime, and was aided by a defensive save from junior Hanna Lucas (Wayne, N.J./ Wayne Hills HS). Chisholm made five saves for the Purple Knights, with just three coming in regulation.

St. Michael's (8-9, 4-6 NE-10) held a 16-10 shot advantage and had 13 of the game's 17 penalty corners.