DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Behind goals from eight different scorers, the UMass Dartmouth field hockey team defeated Elms College by an 8-1 margin in their 2024 home opener on Cressy Field. The Corsairs move to 2-1 on the young season, while the Blazers are now 0-2 overall.
Sophomore forward
Brooke Lydon got the Corsairs on the board quickly in the opening frame, connecting on a cross from rookie forward
Kenzie Bliven for the 1-0 lead at 1:15. Senior midfielder and captain
Jenna Carvalho pushed the margin to 2-0 just under three minutes later, burying a deflection off her own shot that was blocked.
Second quarter action saw a flurry of action, beginning at the 17:53 mark as Carvalho sent a perfect cross from right to left at the top of the arc. Sophomore defender
Sophia Bouffard was there, firing in a shot at the left post that banked off and into the goal for the 3-0 advantage.
Rookie midfielder
Ava Lozeau then netted her first collegiate tally, burying her own rebound in front, before earning an assist on the next play. Sending a beautiful sweeping shot backwards, Lozeau's pass hit sophomore forward
Sam King who dropped it in for the 5-0 advantage.
The Corsairs wrapped the scoring in the second quarter off a penalty corner as an insert from graduate student midfielder and captain
Maggie McCafferty found rookie midfielder
Kayla Crai at the top of the arc. Crai fired a blistering shot that sailed through traffic and in for the 6-0 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, the visiting Blazers got one back as junior midfielder Julianna Morrissette connected off a deflection inside the arc from sophomore forward Stacy Ochieng at the 31:00 mark, but the Corsairs answered 3:35 later as junior forward
Kaylie Pereira drove into the zone and sent a shot past the reach of Elms rookie Emily Hunt.
Bliven recorded the final tally of the evening for either team in the fourth quarter, netting her first collegiate goal at 48:39 as she took a shot that a Blazers defender tried to stop on the goal line, but it made it past at the right corner for the score.
The Corsairs, who held a 24-3 advantage in shots (15-2 on goal), saw junior starter
Kelsie Couto finish with one save in the contest, earning the victory after playing the first two quarters. Rookie
Shane Cueman played the final two quarters of the match, but did not have any saves.
For Elms, junior Katelyn Volk shouldered the loss, recording four saves through the opening two quarters of action. Hunt finished with three saves in the second half of the game.
UMass Dartmouth, which owned a 12-3 edge in penalty corners in tonight's contest, return to action on Saturday. The Corsairs travel to Westfield State University for a 12pm match against the Owls.
