WESTON, Mass. – Powered by a pair of second half goals, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth field hockey team posted a 3-2 victory over Regis College in non-conference action on Thursday evening. The win moves the Corsairs to 2-4 overall, while the Pride are now 0-5.
Regis got things going in the first quarter, as Ava Costello fired in a shot that was initially stopped by junior goalie
Hannah Trombly. The ball came out to Frankie Alley, who buried it in for the 1-0 advantage with 12:19 elapsed in the frame.
In the second quarter of play, the Pride made it a 2-0 margin as Gracie Marsh corralled a pass from Ashley Monteiro at 25:55. But the Corsairs battled back with two minutes remaining before halftime as rookie forward
Brooke Lydon fired in a shot off a feed from classmate and midfielder
Sam King to close the deficit.
The Pride opened the third quarter with back-to-back penalty corners, but the UMass Dartmouth defense held strong, shutting down the home team on both opportunities. The Corsairs used that momentum on the other end, firing in two straight shots before the visitors drew a critical corner.
Feeding the ball in on the corner attempt, junior forward
Harley Hodge made her way in on net, banking home a pass from senior defender
Maggie McCafferty to tie the contest at 2-all with 36:29 elapsed. The Corsairs continued to have solid chances, earning four penalty corners to close out the quarter.
That drive continued into the fourth quarter of play as the Corsairs once again had two quick penalty corner chances with strong shots from sophomore middie
Lillian Bento and rookie
Sam Gacioch – also a midfielder - that were stopped by Regis keeper Sarai Velez.
Midway through the frame, UMass Dartmouth continued to press, once again earning multiple penalty corners until the Pride were called for a foul that led to a Corsairs penalty stroke. McCafferty stepped up to take the chance, navigating it in and past Velez for the 3-2 advantage.
McCafferty recorded a goal and an assist for the Corsairs in the victory, with Hodge and Lydon each posting a tally. Lydon paced the offensive front with five shots – four on goal – while Gacioch had four shots, three of which were on goal. In goal, Trombly recorded one save for the win.
For the Pride, Marsh and Alley each had tallies, with Alley recording five shots. Olivia Bell added a defensive save, while Velez recorded six stops.
The Corsairs return to action on Saturday at 3pm, opening Little East Conference play at Western Connecticut.
