PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth field hockey team were bested by Plymouth State University, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon during a Little East Conference tilt from Panther Field. The Corsairs are now 0-4 in conference play while the Panthers secured their first league win of the season to improve to a 1-1 LEC mark.
The Panthers tested Corsairs goalie
Shane Cueman earlier in the contest who produced two saves in the opening minute of action. Plymouth State grabbed a 1-0 edge after Jen Newick found the back of the cage off the assist from Katie Porrello. At the 10:16 mark, junior forward
Brooke Lydon fired a shot on target that Panthers goalie Natalie Merrick stopped for her first of the afternoon.
Senior captain
Lillian Bento registered a shot that went just wide of the Panthers cage to kick off the second period. Shortly after, Abigale Bsullak tallied two quick strikes on frame off a penalty corner, but Cueman was able to make both saves for the Corsairs. Plymouth State doubled their lead at the 20:33 mark with a score by Sarah Adamske to make it a 2-0 game. The Panthers recorded 10 consecutive shots in the period featuring seven stops by Cueman before Lydon registered a late strike on target, but Plymouth State held on to their 2-0 lead at the break.
Junior captain
Sophia Bouffard started the third period strong for UMass Dartmouth after drilling a pair of shots including one on frame that Merrick was able to stop. Both teams continued to exchange shots but the game stayed locked in at 2-0 entering the final period of the contest. Cueman denied 3-of-4 shots by Plymouth State in the opening three minutes of the fourth period, respectively. The Panthers soon pulled away with a 4-0 advantage as Newick and Adamske each posted a goal apiece for the home squad. Lydon and Bouffard tallied a shot on target in the last minutes of play, but the Panthers sealed their first conference victory by a final score of 4-0.
Lydon led the team with five total shots including four on-goal while Bouffard finished the game with 2-of-3 shots on target. First year
Amelia Keeler, junior
Arlene Johnson, and Bento each tallied two shots apiece in the road loss for UMass Dartmouth.
Cueman produced 20 total saves and allowed four goals in the cage for the Corsairs. It marks her third game of the season with 20-or-more stops and brings her to a league-best 214 saves on the year.
UMass Dartmouth travels to Regis College (Mass.) for their next non-conference game on Tuesday, October 21
st scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start time.
