WORCESTER, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth field hockey team were edged by Wheaton College on Tuesday night during a non-conference tilt from Nordin Field. The Corsairs dropped to 1-3 overall on the season while the Lyons move to a 3-1 mark on the year.
The Lyons applied early pressure to the Corsairs defense in the opening minutes of the first period earning five penalty corners. Corsairs goalie
Shane Cueman, who was named the Little East Goalie of the Week, produced a pair of saves for the visitors. Wheaton grabbed a quick 1-0 lead off a goal by Hannah Fortin at the 8:26 mark of the period. Junior captain
Sophia Bouffard fired the first shot for UMass Dartmouth that went just wide of the cage, but the Lyons held on to their one-goal lead entering the second period.
At the start of the second period, junior
Arlene Johnson tested the Lyons goalie with a shot on target that Grace Ferguson was able to stop. Around the 23
rd minute, respectively, juniors
Sam King and
Ava Lozeau each fired back-to-back shots that Ferguson saved to keep UMass Dartmouth off the scoreboard. Wheaton headed into the break with 2-0 advantage after Kayla Wilonski scored in the closing minutes of the second period.
Bouffard kicked off the third period by drilling a shot off a penalty corner for the Corsairs, but Ferguson was there to make the stop. Shortly after the Lyons regained attacking momentum, recording 6-of-7 shots on target in the third period with Cueman registering all six saves for the Corsairs. Wheaton tacked on two quick scores at the start of the final period of the contest to extend their lead to 4-0. UMass Dartmouth continued to battle winning three penalty corners in the fourth period, but Wheaton sealed their victory by a final score of 4-0 from Nordin Field.
Bouffard ended the game with two shot attempts including on target while Lozeau posted two shots on frame. Johnson and King also finished the contest with on shot on target for the Corsairs.
Cueman produced 13 total saves in the cage for UMass Dartmouth and allowed four goals in the loss. Her counterpart concluded the game with five stops in net for the Lyons.
UMass Dartmouth returns home to host Bridgewater State University on Thursday, Sept. 11 for their next non-conference tilt. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time from Cressy Field.
