Ruocco's two goals not enough as Sharks win, 9-4

(Nashua, NH) The Simmons College Sharks were too much to handle as they defeated the Rivier College Raiders, 9-4 in North Atlantic Conference Field Hockey action.

The offenses came out on fire right away as the teams combined to score eight first half goals. Simmons College sophomore Monica Doucette (Rockport, ME) highlighted the Shark's scoring attack as she found the back of the net three times. Not to be outdone, Rivier College registered three tallies of their own. Juniors Ashley Ruocco (East Kingston, NH), junior Rebecca Mandanjian (Chelmsford, MA) and freshman Kayla O'Reilly (Marshfield, MA) netted goals, respectively in the three goal first half.  

Mandanjian got things started as she was able to score her first goal just two minutes into the frame. Simmons would answer immediately as Doucette buried a pass from Lee Sutherland (Wolfeboro, NH), who had collected her shot and found the open Doucette. That goal came just 45 seconds after Mandanjian's to knot things up at 1.  

O'Reilly would score her first goal just inside the 10 minute mark as she was able to sneak a shot past Simmons goaltender Renna Smith (So., Belfast, ME). O'Reilly was set up by Mandanjian, who found a loose rebound and made the accurate pass.

Simmons would answer back as they scored three unanswered goals. Doucette scored her second as she was the beneficiary of a Simmons corner play. After Rivier freshman Presleigh Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH) made a terrific defensive stop, Sutherland deposited the rebound to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. Kelly Fisher (Yarmouth, ME) would extend the lead to 4-2 as her shot deflected off of a Rivier defender and went over the shoulder of freshman goalkeeper Makenzie Flagg (Shirley, MA).  

Ruocco would net her first goal of the game as she capitalized on a loose ball inside the crease to cut the deficit to just one (4-3). However, Doucette would record the first half hat trick with 8 minutes left.  

Simmons College would net four more goals in the second half. Doucette would add her fourth goal after she collected a rebound off a fantastic save by Flagg. Sutherland recorded her second goal just a minute later when she received a fortunate bounce in a scrum in front of the net.

Ruocco recorded goal number two of the game with 9 minutes left. She carried it all the way down the right side of the field before putting a shot past the Simmons goalkeeper.  

The Sharks would finish off the high scoring affair as freshman Aslyn Dindoff (Fryeburg, ME) found the back of the net twice in the final eight minutes.  

Rivier will return to action on Thursday night as they travel up to Colby-Sawyer College. The North Atlantic Conference contest, which was postponed from Saturday (10/1), will start at 7pm. Simmons will host Colby-Sawyer on Saturday (10/8).