RUTLAND — The Otter Valley Union High School field hockey team rallied for a dramatic 4-3 win at Division I foe Rutland on Monday, when Allison Lowell scored three of her four goals in the final 10:11 to erase a 3-1 Raider lead.
The victory moved OV to 5-1-2 and into second place in D-II entering a two-game set with third-place Woodstock (3-2-2). The Wasps are set to visit on Thursday afternoon, and OV will travel to Woodstock on Saturday afternoon. Undefeated U-32 remains in first place.
On Monday, the Raiders earned 16 penalty corners to the Otters’ two and put 20 shots on goal to the Otters’ six, with OV goalie Myliah McDonough turning away 17 Raider bids.
Rutland got on the board with goals from Mia Sanborn two minutes into the game and Marina Rotella at 14:16 of the first half. Lowell tallied her first a minute later to put OV on the board, but Rotella made it 3-1 before halftime.
OV coach Stacey Edmunds-Brickell said her defense of Meghan Hallett, Courtney Randall and Sophie Bloomer settled in after the break, but the offense did not click in until she shifted the formation to give more support to Lowell up top.
At 10:11, Lowell converted a feed from Maia Edmunds to make it 3-2, and at 7:47 Lowell converted a clean breakaway. Her game-winner came at 3:30, when she dribbled past two defenders and went in alone on Raider goalie Emily Lanzillo (two saves) and found the corner again. The Raiders fell to 3-6.