By Dylan Botehlo, Sports Editor
After a positive start to the week that saw the Corsairs field hockey team pick up their first victory, the team cooled down with a close loss Saturday evening.
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs field hockey team kicked off last week’s action on the road Wednesday against Framingham State University. The team went into the Ram’s Maple Street Field and left with their first Little East Conference victory as three different players scored to secure the Corsairs 3-1 win.
Sophomore Brittany Perry started the scoring for the Corsairs with an unassisted score in the 19th minute. The score would stand at 1-0 all the way into the halftime intermission but would not stay long after the two team’s returned to the field.
Junior Bridget Harrington extended the Corsairs lead to 2-0 just 7:03 into the second half off a pass from senior Ciara Anderson. Harrington’s goal was then matched by sophomore Grace Sylvia, who scored the Corsairs final goal of the night in the 48th minute.
The host Rams would not go down without at least some of a fight, but their efforts ultimately were not enough. Rams senior Meaghann Ackerman scored to cut the Corsairs lead to two but it was too little too late, as only 2:03 remained left on the game clock.
With a dominating conference victory over the Rams, the Corsairs were prepared to add another when they hosted the Westfield State Owls Saturday afternoon.
There were a total of three ties throughout the game and four lead changes, the final of which saw the Owls on top. It was a back and forth bout on Cressy Field but a decisive goal in the 57th minute by Owls’ freshman Allie Giguere would prove to be the game winner. Giguere’s goal came after a wild scramble in front of the net left the Corsairs defense vulnerable for just long enough for Giguere to take advantage of.
Westfield would start and end the game in top, as Owls freshman Cheryl Latona scored off a pass from Giguere 3:17 into the match. The Corsairs kept right along with the Owls however and tied the game up in the 17th minute when Harrington scored her second goal of the week and third of the season.
The Owls jumped right back in front thanks to a penalty stroke conversion just four minutes later by senior Carly Zona. That wouldn’t be it for an exciting first half of play because with just a measly 48 seconds to play, Corsairs freshman Kylie Dias scored on a breakaway to send both teams into the locker room tied.
Giguere’s skill shined again as she set up senior Brittany Bowes to give Westfield State a 3-2 lead but the Corsairs tied the game for the final time less than three minutes later when senior Mary Brown took a pass from Harrington for her second goal of the season. Giguere would cap off the night with her late-game heroics to steal a second straight victory away from the Corsairs.
Due to heavy rain, the Corsairs Tuesday night match against Southern Maine has been postponed and no make-up date has yet been scheduled. UMass Dartmouth will return to action Thursday, September 27th with a non-league match on the road against Lasell at 4:00 PM.
PHOTO COURTESY: CORSAIR ATHLETICS