Buckley Field Firestorm: Dragons Erase 3-0 Deficit to Stun No. 10 Duke 4-3 in OT

Saturday, September 5

Buckley Field

1:00

Drexel University

Duke

Buckley Field Firestorm: Dragons Erase 3-0 Deficit to Stun No. 10 Duke 4-3 in OT

9/5/2009 3:37:56 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Philadelphia – Drexel ignited a near capacity crowd into a frenzy with an overtime goal after erasing a 3-0 deficit to defeat 10th-ranked Duke, 4-3. Senior captain Carolina Gibernau scored the game-tying and game-winning goals while Christina Mastropaolo recorded a goal and two assists. The win dropped the Blue Devils, who had defeated two teams ranked in the top 13 in the nation, to 2-1 while the Dragons improved to 3-0. The three-goal deficit was the largest overcome for a victory by a Drexel team in its 27-season Division I history.

Gibernau's overtime game-winner came on Drexel's third penalty corner of the extra period. Mastropaolo inserted the ball to the senior who stopped it then dribbled to her right before firing a perfectly placed shot into the left side of the cage just 4:12 into overtime. Gibernau had tied the game with less than eight minutes remaining after she took a Kim Tunell pass and fired a shot from the right side that hit high into the left netting of the cage. Following the tying goal, Duke's Amie Survilla was assessed a 10-minute yellow card for initiating a huge collision with Megan Keller as she attempted to send a ball ahead. Despite being short-handed, the Blue Devils generated the best scoring opportunity in regulation over the last eight minutes when Mary Nielsen rifled a shot that was knee high but turned away by goalie Jenna Phillips.

The Dragons battled their way back into the game after halftime as Mastropaolo put Drexel on the scoreboard just less than 10 minutes into the period as she dribbled in alone on Duke goalie Samantha Nelson after taking a pass from Gibernau that was sent from her own side of the field. Just four minutes later, Kim Tunell fired a shot directly off a penalty corner that rang the inside left post and caromed into the cage to set up Gibernau's late-game heroics.

It was Survilla who nearly single-handedly gave Duke what seemed to be an insurmountable first-half lead. Less than two minutes into the game she scored on a penalty corner in a goal that looked nearly identical to Tunell's second-half goal. Midway through the half she notched her second when she took a centering pass from Susan Ferger and one-timed the ball into the cage. She recorded her hat trick less than 20 minutes into the game after taking a rebound on her own shot and depositing it in the cage.

Drexel outshot the Blue Devils, 15-13, for the game including a 3-0 advantage in the overtime period. Duke held a 9-7 edge in penalty corners with Drexel generating all seven of its corners in the second half and overtime. Phillips made six saves after allowing goals on the Blue Devils' first two shots. Nelson stopped four Drexel shots including one in overtime. Drexel's Susan Ciufo had the nation's longest point-scoring streak snapped at 22 games in the victory.

Drexel returns to action on Friday, Sept. 11 as the Dragons will host Richmond at Buckley Field at 7:00 p.m. To receive text message updates about Drexel Field Hockey click here. To become a fan of Drexel Field Hockey on facebook, follow this link.