Field Hockey: Letendre's 2OT winner lifts Raiders past Fitchburg State, 1-0

Story written and posted by Anthony Perry, Rivier University Sports Information Director

FITCHBURG, MASS. – The Rivier University Field Hockey team brought home a double-overtime win this evening as they defeated Fitchburg State University, 1-0 in non-conference action at Fitchburg State's Elliot Field. The win propels the Raiders to an overall record of 2-3 while the Falcons stumble to 1-6 on the year.

After seventy-nine minutes of scoreless action, freshman Carissa Letendre (Whitinsville, Mass.) propelled the Raiders to the one goal win with her second marker of the season. On the 26th penalty corner of the game, Rivier midfielder Lia Yohanan (Andover, N.J.) blasted a shot from the top of the circle off the pads of Falcons goalkeeper Colleen Lamprey (Cherry Valley, Mass.). Letendre corralled the rebound and tucked the ball into the corner of the net for the hard-fought victory.

The Raider offense pounded out a total of 40 shots in contest with Letendre leading the way with 10 shots (8 shots on goal). Freshman Madison Streeter (Westminster, Vt.) recorded six shots on net as did junior Nicole Mansfield (Acton, Mass.) while sophomore Maegan Sheehy (Sabattus, Maine) finished with seven shots on goal as the team recorded the single-season record for shots on goal with 32.

Rivier sophomore goalkeeper Katie Olsen (Saugus, Mass.) registered her first shutout of the season as she stopped all six shots she faced on net. Lamprey made an impressive 29 saves on the evening for the Falcons.

This marks the first time in ten meetings that Rivier has defeated Fitchburg State in the all-time series with the Falcons currently leading at 9-1-0.
Next up for the Raiders will be a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest on Saturday afternoon as they welcome Simmons University to Joanne Merrill Field for a 5pm start. Fitchburg State will remain home for their next scheduled contest as they host Plymouth State University on Saturday morning at 10am.