Nov. 15, 2002

Storrs, Conn. - The University of Rhode Island posted a thrilling 2-1 double-overtime decision against Dartmouth in the first round of the NCAA Championship at Morrone Field in Storrs, Conn., on Friday evening. The win was the first-ever NCAA tournament win for the Rams in the history of the program.

Junior forward Sarah Johnston scored on a breakaway down the middle of field after collecting a pass from senior Heather Kasparek at midfield. Johnston then put a shot into the upper right corner of the goal with 5:44 left in the second overtime period for the 2-1 victory.

"This was a great win for us and the program," said Johnston. "We're very excited about the win and look forward to facing Uconn on Sunday." "It was a great game where both teams played very well," said Rhode Island head coach Geoff Bennett. "There were some good chances and we were just fortunate to finish two of ours."

Rhode Island jumped on the board early in the first half. Junior Sarah Johnston played a through ball to freshman Melanie Kasparek who put a cross into the box to senior Gina Rosen. Rosen then one-touched a shot into the lower left corner of the box to give the Rams a 1-0 lead at the 5:43 mark. Dartmouth had several chances in the first half, including a shot on goal that was saved by senior Kelly Irvin in an open net with 16:00 left in the half. URI outshot Dartmouth by a 4-3 margin and took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout the second half before Dartmouth evened the score on an unassisted goal from Jennie Tonneson, her first career goal, at the 77:57 mark. Dartmouth outshot Rhode Island by an 8-2 margin in the second half and a 3-1 margin in both overtime periods.

Senior Jamie Epperlein made seven stops in goal for Rhode Island while Julia Shields (3 saves) and Anne Marbarger (1 saves) split time in goal for the Big Green.

With the win Rhode Island improves to 16-5-1 while Dartmouth falls to 12-5-1. The Rams will return to action on Sunday when they face Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA Championship at 1:00 p.m.

Game Summary
URI (16-5-1)	1  0  0  1 --  2
DC (12-5-1)	0  0  0  0 --  1

URI	5:43	Gina Rosen (Melanie Kasparek, Sarah Johnston)
DC	77:67	Jennie Tonneson (Unassisted)
URI	104:16	Sarah Johnston (Heather Kasparek)

Shots:	URI - 15; DC - 7
Saves:	URI - Jamie Epperlein (7 saves, 104:16); DC - Julia Shields (3 saves, 45:00), Anne Marbarger (1 save, 59:16)