Field Hockey Blanks West Conn, 4-0

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Shelby Farland (Fiskdale, Mass.) tallied a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the Bridgewater State University field hockey team to a 4-0 shutout of Little East Conference (LEC) foe Western Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

With the win, the Bears extended their winning streak to seven games.  Bridgewater is now 12-1 on the season and remain tied atop the Little East standing with a 7-0 conference mark.  With 12 wins in their first 13 games, the Bears are off to the best start in program history.  Western Connecticut slips to 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the LEC.

Bridgewater outshot the Colonials, 9-2, in the first half but was unable to dent the scoreboard  West Conn junior goaltender Courtney Hearn (New Fairfield, Conn.) made six saves in the opening stanza to keep the game scoreless.  Her biggest stop came on a penalty stroke attempt off the stick of Farland, the conference's leading scorer.

The second half was all Bridgewater as the Bears exploded for four goals in a span of 18 minutes and 17 seconds.

Junior forward Carissa Vizakis (Bellingham, Mass.) opened the scoring with her ninth goal of the season in the 40th minute.  Farland redirected a long pass from junior forward Demi Miskiv (Centerville, Mass.) and put the ball onto the stick of a streaking Vizakis who blistered a shot into the back of the net.

Senior defender Olivia Galvin (Mashpee, Mass.) gave the Bears a 2-0 lead less than three minutes later with her first collegiate goal.  Galvin knocked home a loose ball in front of the net after back-to-back saves by Hearn.

Farland scored her first of the afternoon in the 51st minute off a perfect feed from Miskiv, and then capped off the scoring with a penalty corner goal in the 58th minute.  Vizakis took the corner and sent the ball out to freshman midfielder Jennifer Arnold (West Yarmouth, Mass.) who made the stick-stop just outside the circle.  Farland rifled a shot into the back of the net to give BSU the 4-0 lead.

The Bears outshot the Colonials by a margin of 22-6 and also held a 9-4 edge in penalty corners.  BSU junior goaltender Kacie Sturgeon (Dartmouth, Mass.) made two saves, including one in the final minute to preserve her third shutout of the season.  Hearn finished with 12 saves for the Colonials.

Farland hit a few milestones with her five-point performance. She tied Bethany Bush (2009-2012) for second place among the Bears' all-time leading scorers as she now has 119 points in her career. Farland also passed Bush (47 goals) for second on the career goal-scoring list with her 48th marker, and moved ahead of Karen Croteau for third on the Bears' all-time assist list.  Farland also extended her point-scoring streak to 17 games dating back to last season.

In upcoming action, Bridgewater travels to New England College on Tuesday evening (7:00), while West Conn heads to Manhattanville College on Wednesday night (7:00).