While most players praised goalie Betsy Wagner for her play in the first overtime, defender Lindsay Kocher was a big contributor, too. She broke up numerous plays and cut down shooting angles to keep the score tied at one.

Head coach Kathleen Parker planned to take Kocher out for the start of the second overtime period but thought the senior looked rested enough from the intermission to stay in.

‘Kocher has come into her own,’ Parker said. ‘She’s the Lindsay Kocher that I saw when she was a senior in high school who refused to lose. She has taken that upon her shoulders here.’

Sophomore Ashley Fry scored SU’s two goals sporting a new knee brace.

Fry had come out of the Penn State game Wednesday in pain and iced her knees before she went back in.

The injury stems from a double knee surgery that she had as a junior at Oley Valley High School in Douglassville, Pa., to repair a torn meniscus in each knee. She said she was used to having the brace on from a few days of practice and it did not slow her down.

During the second overtime, Wagner dove head first to knock a ball out of harm’s way. Assistant coach Amy Agulay, a goalie for the Canadian national team, told Wagner to be smart.

‘Luckily, I didn’t hear coach,’ Wagner said.

Wagner finished with 11 saves. She said the fatigue set in for both teams in the middle of the second half, though pure adrenaline let them finish.

‘Thank God both teams got exhausted,’ she said. ‘Luckily, if we were recovering, (BC) wasn’t putting anyone up anyway.’

Parker continued to platoon her forwards in groups of three.

‘I like it more every game,’ she said. ‘All I’ve heard is support. It gives us a chance to talk to a group as they come out, or it gives them a chance to watch the game from a different perspective.’

Yesterday marked the last regular season meeting at Coyne Field between the two teams before Boston College enters the Atlantic Coast Conference. … Girls from Syracuse’s summer field hockey camp were invited to the game yesterday, creating the biggest home crowd this year at Coyne Field: 237 were in attendance. … A halftime contest was also held. Three girls, including freshman Brittany Angellella’s sister, were chosen to take as many as seven shots at the goal in 20 seconds. The winner won two free passes to the Big East Conference Championships at Coyne Field in November.

Published on September 26, 2004 at 12:00 pm