Field Hockey edged out at home, 2-0 to Fitchburg State
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (2-2, 0-1 MASCAC) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Rivier (1-3, 0-1 GNAC) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier University Field Hockey team, fresh off their 9-0 victory of Daniel Webster on Monday night, returned to action this evening as they hosted Fitchburg State University at Raider Field. The Falcons were able to escape with a slim 2-0 victory as Rivier freshman goaltender Emily Foster (West Lebanon, N.H.) made 13 saves on the evening.
In the opening period of play, Fitchburg State took the lead at the 10:47 mark as junior Julia Pecoraro slid a pass over to senior Erin Morrissey, who blasted a shot inside the near post for her second tally on the season to make the score, 1-0
The Falcons nearly doubled their lead in the 24th minute of play when Morrissey and classmate Julia Gimenez posted shots on frame, but Foster turned aside both attempts as the score remained 1-0 going into intermission.
Following the break, the Green and Gold threaten again early in the stanza as Morrissey's shot got past Foster, but sophomore Taylor Lirakis (Tewksbury, Mass.) deflected the ball off the goal line for a defensive save.
The Raiders turned up the offensive pressure with just over 20 minutes remaining in the contest when sophomore Jordan Parece (Pelham, N.H.) and junior Chelsea Gomes (Epsom, N.H.) fired shots towards goal, only to have both shots block by the defense to preserve the 1-0 margin.
The visitors upped its advantage at the 58:32 mark as junior Madeline Hoffman tucked the ball into the right side of the cage for her first marker on the season off an assist from sophomore Bailey Miller for the 2-0 lead.
Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 40-2 advantage in shots, while also holding a 24-2 margin in penalty corners. In the cage, senior Judith Valentin went untested for the Falcons, earning her second victory on the season.
Rivier University (1-3, 0-1 GNAC) will be back in action again on Saturday as they will visit Saint Joseph's (Me.) on Saturday at 12 p.m. Fitchburg State (2-2, 0-1 LEC) will also be in action on Saturday as they host the Owls of Keene State College for a contest starting at 10 a.m.
