No. 14 Field Hockey Tops Eastern on Dobiesz's Overtime Winner

Box Score Montclair, NJ (9/17/08) – Junior forward REBECCA DOBIESZ (Old Bridge, NJ / Old Bridge) scored with 4:08 into the second overtime as 14th-ranked Montclair State edged Eastern University, 2-1 in NCAA Division III field hockey action at Sprague Field on Wednesday evening.

Senior goalkeeper EMINA UDRJIA ( West Paterson, NJ / Passaic Valley) made 10 saves over the final 55 minutes as the Red Hawks moved to 6-0 on the season with their sixth win in seven meetings against Eastern.

Last year, Montclair fell to the Eagles by the identical margin in two overtimes in St. David's, PA, and it marked the third consecutive year that extra time was needed to decide a victory. In 2006, Montclair recorded a 3-2 win at Sprague Field in a contest decided by penalty strokes.

Elya Troup ( Richfield, PA / Midd-West) scored the lone goal for the Eagles, who fell to 4-3.

Troup gave Eastern a 1-0 lead nine minutes into the contest as she collected a ball two yards out and shoved a shot past Udrjia giving the Eagles a one-goal lead. Eastern held on to the lead; however, it would be called for a penalty stroke at with 4:36 remaining in the first half, and Montclair's MEGAN PIETRUNTI (Middletown, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) made the most of her opportunity with her third goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1.

That's how the game would stay as both teams took a combined 22 shots in the second half, 13 by Montclair. Sophomore goalkeeper Laura Ressler ( Media, PA / Delaware County Christian) made five saves in the first 20 minutes while Udrjia had seven during a barrage of shots as the Eagles put eight on the cage in a 1:15 span during the period.

Into the first overtime, the game went where it was the Eagles who managed all four chances. But Udrjia came up big with three saves, including two by Troup and one by Lindsay Moyer (Telford, PA / Christopher Dock). In the second OT, Montclair moved the ball inside the circle as JUSTINE DIPAOLO ( Lanoka Harbor, NJ / Lacey) got by a defender and had an open shot at the cage. DiPaolo misfired on the attempt; however, it was enough to move Ressler away from the goal line. DiPaolo then slid a pass to the right side where Dboiesz banged home the shot into the open cage to give Montclair the victory.

Ressler finished with 12 saves for the Eagles, who were outshot in the game 23-14. Each team recorded 12 penalty corners.

Montclair State returns to action on Saturday, September 20, as the Red Hawks host Susquehanna at Sprague Field. The Eagles are off for the next week and will return to New Jersey on Tuesday, September 23, as they take on William Paterson.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Justine DiPaolo: FWD; 5' 2"; Junior

#6 Rebecca Dobiesz: MID; 5' 1"; Junior

#16 Megan Pietrunti: FWD; 5' 3"; Junior

#00 Emina Udrjia: GK; 5' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#1 Justine DiPaolo
: 5' 2"; Junior
: FWD

#6 Rebecca Dobiesz
: 5' 1"; Junior
: MID

#16 Megan Pietrunti
: 5' 3"; Junior
: FWD

#00 Emina Udrjia
: 5' 5"; Junior
: GK