Dover placed second at Brewster Tournament
Next Home Game: Dover Hosts Pawling at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 18
By John M. Benson
October 14, 2007
The Dover Dragons, growing game by game into a force to be reckoned with, got a huge win over Fox Lane on Friday night when goalie Cassie Hyatt blocked three straight shots to prevail in the overtime shootout.
This was the Brewster High School Field Hockey Tourmanent, the prestigious tournament where Dover won the championship last year.
Michelle Djonovic, Cassie Hyatt and Alicia Tamboia were named to the All-Tournament Team.
When Dover defeated Fox Lane on Friday night, Dover was on its way to defending the Dragons' championship of 2006, as they earned the right to play Brewster in the championship game on Saturday night.
Dover center forward Carly Anderson scored in the first minute of the second half for Dover against Fox Lane on Friday night, earning the 1-0 Dover lead, on a play where Anderson was joined in the circle by an overwhelming force of Dragons that would not be denied.
After Fox Lane tied the score at 1-1 in the second half, the teams were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, and were still tied at 1-1 after two scoreless overtime periods of 6-on-6 field hockey.
Goalie Cassie Hyatt was brilliant for Dover in the shootout, where five strikers from each team take the equivalent of a penalty stroke against the goalie standing alone in the spotlight.
Fox Lane scored on the first shot, and led 1-0 in the shootout.
But Hyatt was the force from there on, stoning the next three shots by Fox Lane, while teammates Michelle Djonovic, Megan Lahm and Ali Emerson rang the bell with their shots to give Dover the 3-1 shootout lead.
The shot by Emerson gave the Dragons the lead at 3-1, but Fox Lane could extend it to the final shooter if their fourth attacker could get the shot past Hyatt.
It was an eerie hush that fell over the stadium, not so much as the sound of a whisper in the cold and damp October night, as the Fox Lane shooter stepped up to the ball. She stroked it toward the goal, but Hyatt stopped it with her pads and secured the game, and the Dover team erupted in celebration and raced onto the field to congratulate their goalkeeper.
The Brewster Bears are a tough enough team under any circumstances, but in the final game on Saturday night, on their home field and seeking to bring the trophy for their own tournament back home, they were destined to get the win.
Dover played hard for 60 minutes, actually taking a 0-0 tie into the halftime break, but the Bears were just strong enough to score the two goals and the 2-0 win over the Dragons.
The full dover lineup includes seniors Michelle Djonovic, Carly Anderson, Allie Rinaldi, Alicia Tamboia, Kayla Baruffo, Lisa Quaglina and Chrissy Schiavo, juniors Cassie Hyatt, Gina Perry, Kasie Loverro and Erin Franco, sophomores Meghan Lahm, Ali Emerson and Alexa Schwall, and freshman Alexandra Abrams. |
