BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – A strong opening half propelled the Bridgewater State field hockey team past UMass Dartmouth in non-conference action on Tuesday evening. The Bears, who earned the 5-1 victory, move to 4-8-1 overall, while the Corsairs are now 3-11 on the season.
The Bears came out firing as Zoe Bergeron notched back-to-back shots at Corsairs keeper
Hannah Trombly in the opening six minutes of the game. BSU converted at the 7:13 mark of the frame as Abbie Zuber shipped a pass over to Madison Ellis, who knocked it in at the left corner.
Bridgewater State continued to press into the second stanza as Ellis once again capitalized, converting a pass from Bergeron this time at 15:58 to make it a 2-0 margin. Less than four minutes later, it was Raegen Perry dropping a pass from Lexi James into the goal for the 3-0 lead.
The Corsairs answered before the end of the second quarter as senior captain
Maggie McCafferty – who had a shot saved at the 26:09 mark – dropped in a penalty stroke goal in the final 1:11 of the frame to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Out of the intermission, both teams had their chances, including three penalty corners for the Corsairs, but neither were able to convert.
In the fourth quarter, the Bears were able to capitalize on their opportunities as James dropped in her ninth of the season, while Brianna Gagnon added a tally with 57:57 left on the clock.
The Bears were paced in goal by Kailey Hutchinson, who recorded one save over 60 minutes played. The Corsairs were paced by McCafferty's goal. Trombly played 52:55 in goal, recording four saves, before giving way to sophomore
Kelsie Couto over the final 7:05.
UMass Dartmouth, which posted seven penalty corners to lead the contest, returns to action on Saturday, traveling to New Hampshire for a 4pm contest at LEC-rival, Plymouth State.
