Farland Leads Field Hockey to Eighth Straight Win

DANBURY, Conn. -- Shelby Farland (Fiskdale, MA) scored in the game's opening minutes and again in overtime to lead the Bridgewater State field hockey team to a thrilling 2-1 victory over Little East Conference rival Western Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon at the Westside Athletic Complex.

Bridgewater State scored the game's first goal with just over two minutes played when Farland finished a successful three-on-one fast break by taking a pass from Beth Phillips (Worcester, MA) and pounding the ball past WestConn keeper Alyssa Picariello (Montrose, NY) to give the Bears an early 1-0 lead.

At the 14:47 mark of the first half, WestConn junior Deanne Mastrocola (Goshen, CT) was given a yellow card and sent off for seven minutes, but Bridgewater State could not capitalize on the advantage and the score remained 1-0 at intermission.

With 15:55 remaining in the second half, WestConn senior Brittany Barra (Goshen, CT) slipped behind the Bridgewater State defense and appeared to have an open shot on goal, but the ball sailed wide left.  Six minutes later, Mastrocola gave Barra a second chance from the same angle, and this time Barra's shot found the back of the net for a 1-1 tie.  The Colonials continued applying pressure to the Bridgewater State defense, but after 70 minutes, the score remained tied.

In the first overtime period, a yellow card to BSU's Megan Cullinane (Lunenburg, MA) gave WestConn a one-player advantage for five minutes, but the Colonials failed to score in spite of outshooting the Bears 6-1 during the period.

Two minutes into the second overtime period, Bridgewater State appeared to score the game winning goal, but after a brief conference the officials determined the shot had come from outside the arc and play continued.  Four minutes later Farland scored the game-winner for BSU on a play similar to the game's first goal.  Farland and two of her BSU teammates created a three-on-one break, but this time Farland controlled the ball down the middle of the field, made a nice move around the WestConn keeper, and rolled the ball into the empty goal for a 2-1 victory.

For the game, each team took 15 shots, while WestConn held a slight 16-15 edge in penalty corners.  Picariello finished with five saves for WestConn, and Cassie Johansen (Port Jefferson Station, NY) made four saves to earn the win for Bridgewater State.

With the loss, WestConn's season record now stands at 7-5, and 3-4 in the Little East Conference.  The Bears, winners of eight straight games, climb to 9-3, 5-2 in the LEC.