DUDLEY, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth field hockey team were upended by Nichols College, 3-1, on Wednesday night during a non-conference tilt from Vendetti Field. The Corsairs dropped to a 4-13 overall record while the Bison claimed their fourth won the season.
The Bison took a quick 1-0 lead in the game after Sofia Calabro found the back of the cage in the opening three minutes of play, respectively. Nichols continued to be on the attack registering five more shots in the first period. Sophomore defender
Sophia Bouffard recorded her eighth defensive save at the 4:44 mark while first year goalie
Shane Cueman posted a pair of stops to keep the Bison off the scoreboard.
Cueman produced another two early saves to start the second period for UMass Dartmouth. At the 22:13 mark, the Corsairs tied the game up to 1-1 thanks to a score by sophomore
Brooke Lydon off the assist from junior
Abby Perry. Nichols responded by firing their next five shots on frame, all which Cueman saved, bringing her to nine total stops after two full periods.
Nichols answered in the third period as Merle Steinau netted her third goal of the season at the 37
th minute of action to give the home team a 2-1 advantage. Senior captain
Jenna Carvalho and Lydon each ripped two shots apiece in the last five minutes of the period, forcing three saves from Bison goalie Sophia Venable. Shortly after, Asya Osei-Opoku buried the ball into the cage from a Calabro helper to extend their lead to 3-1 just before the break.
UMass Dartmouth outshot Nichols 3-to-1 in the final period of the contest. First year
Arlene Johnson fired a shot on target followed quickly by another shot by classmate
Ava Lozeau, but Venable was able to make both stops. In the final minute of the game, Lydon had a late scoring chance that Venable denied sealing the Bisons 3-1 victory over the Corsairs.
Nichols held a 23-9 advantage in total shots along with a 20-8 edge in total shots on frame. The Bison also won the penalty corner battle with 17 on the night compared to the Corsairs with seven in the contest.
Lydon tallied the lone goal for UMass Dartmouth marking her fifth of the season while posting a team-high five shot attempts. Perry recorded the only assist of the night for the Corsairs to earn her second assist on the year.
Cueman shouldered the loss for UMass Dartmouth after producing 16 total saves in the cage and allowing three goals. Vanable picked up the win for the Bison with seven stops and one goal allowed after 60 minutes of action.
UMass Dartmouth returns to Little East Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 26 hosting the Panthers of Plymouth State University. The league tilt is slated for a 2:00 pm start time from Cressy Field.
