The Sacred Heart University Field Hockey team opened their season in dramatic fashion Friday night by defeating Villanova 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Danielle Gallagher with no time remaining on the clock. The game-winning goal was Gallagher's second of the game.

With the clock approaching zero in the first overtime period, the Pioneers would earn one last penalty corner to set up the heroics by Gallagher. Christine Mace sent the corner into Liz Bergman, who fired the ball into the circle towards goal. Gallagher positioned her stick to deflect the Bergman pass into the back of the net to secure the Pioneer victory.

In the season opener for both teams, Sacred Heart controlled the play early outshooting the Wildcats 8-3 in the first half. Villanova would be the first to strike though as Kayla Kenney found a pass in front of the net from a diving Heather Smillie. Kenney spun around and fired her shot past Sacred Heart goalkeeper Mary Altepeter to take the 1-0 lead late in the first half.

SHU would be quick to respond scoring less than two minutes later. A diving Altepeter save immediately led to a counter-attack for the Pioneers. The ball found Mace who drove down the side of the field and sent a cross in front of net. After taking a deflection off of a defender's stick, the ball set up nicely for Gallagher to tap it in for a 1-1 tie heading into the half.

The second half saw a balanced attack by both teams as Villanova held a slight 6-5 edge in shots. The two goalkeepers held firm in net though as they combined to record seven saves to keep the score tied and force the extra period.

Altepeter saved five shots in the victory, while Villanova goalkeeper Jordyn Clipstone recorded six saves in the defeat. In total, Sacred Heart outshot Villanova 19-13, with the two teams combining for ten shots in overtime. The Pioneers took 11 penalty corners, while the Wildcats managed seven.

Sacred Heart will return to action on Sunday as they travel to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 3 PM. Rutgers opened their season by defeating Bucknell 3-2 in overtime on Friday night. Fans can follow the action at scarletknights.com.