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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Slippery Rock University field hockey team completed a weekend sweep with a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory over Bellarmine University on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Massachusetts.
 
The Rock surged ahead in the opening frame to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Senior Allison Shade connected on a pass from sophomore Michelle Couch to open the scoring in the 13^th minute and give SRU the early advantage. Freshman Kailee Krupski sent a feed from sophomore Megan McKay into the back of the cage for her first career goal in the 34^th minute to cap the half and send The Rock into the locker room with the 2-0 edge.
 
Bellarmine flipped the momentum in the second half. The Rock's defense stood strong as the Knights cranked up the pressure following the break, until Bellarmine was awarded a penalty stroke after a Rock foul in the box. Kelsey O'Bryan took advantage of the penalty and found the back of the cage in the 43^rd minute to cut the deficit in half. O'Bryan leveled the game at 2-2 with her second goal of the match in the 59^th minute, this time connecting on a perfectly placed pass through traffic from Alexis Van Wallaghen.
 
The tense affair remained tight until the final seconds of play as things carried over into overtime. In the opening minutes of extra action, Bellarmine broke free for a great look at the golden goal before senior defender Kelsey Gustafson stepped in to make a huge defensive save and extend the game for SRU.
 
Gustafson's goal-line save thwarted the Knights' bid for victory and fueled a late push by the Slippery Rock offense. After winning a corner, senior Kaili Simmons tipped in the game-winning goal on a pass from Shade in the 76^th minute.
 
The teams played even in the first half, but the Knights' offense outshot The Rock 14-5 and led 10-4 in corners in the second frame. Bellarmine finished with advantages of 22-13 in shots, 16-9 in shots on goal and 14-7 in corners.
 
Despite the tilted statistics, junior Rock goal keeper proved to be the difference as she made 12 saves and allowed just two goals to earn her second win of the season. DuMars was also aided by a pair of timely defensive saves from Gustafson and Baylee Childress.
 
Lara Williams picks up the loss for Bellarmine after making six saves and allowing three goals.
 
Shade finished the game with a goal and an assist to pace The Rock's offense. Krupski and Simmons each added a goal, while McKay and Couch picked up assists.
 
With the win, Slippery Rock improves to 2-0 to start the season. The Rock returns to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium Wednesday for its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opener against Seton Hill at 4 p.m.