Field Hockey Rolls to 7-4 Win over Johnson & Wales

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University field hockey team posted a 7-4 non-conference victory over visiting Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday afternoon at Swenson Field.

Seven different players scored for the Bears who improve to 6-8 on the season. The Wildcats fall to 3-10 with the setback.

Junior midfielder Mia Pelletier (New Bedford, Mass.) scored a pair of goals and junior midfielder Samantha Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) and freshman forward Emma Daly (Foxborough, Mass.) each finished with a goal and an assist to lead the way for Bridgewater State. The Bears also received goals from senior defender Janet Maher (Mansfield, Mass.), junior forward Alexandra Zoebisch (Plymouth, Mass.) and junior midfielder Julianne Kilduff (Bellingham, Mass.).

Freshman forward Natalie Rivas (Andover, N.J.) and senior midfielder Giovanna Ciavardoni (Latham, N.Y.) tallied two goals apiece to pace the visiting Wildcats. Rivas also added an assist.

Zoebisch opened the scoring just 5:45 into the game with her fifth goal of the season off a centering pass from Daly. Rivas tied it less than four minutes later as she tipped home a crossing pass from senior midfielder Shaina Thompson (Delmar, Dela.)

Hayes potted her team-leading 14th goal of the season in the 23rd minute to regain the lead for the Bears. Hayes stick-handled in and fired a shot from ten yards out that beat the screened JWU netminder. Daly scored in the 28^th minute off a penalty corner to extend the BSU lead to 3-1. Daly knocked the ball over the goal line off the rebound of her own shot for her sixth marker of the 2017 campaign.

Bridgewater would take a the 3-1 advantage into the break.

The Wildcats closed the gap to 3-2 just 1:41 into the second half as Rivas netted her second goal of the game and fifth of the season.

The two teams would combined to score six goals over the final 11 minutes of the game.

Kilduff found the back of the net from just inside the circle on a penalty corner in the 60th minute with senior defender Katherine McKenna (Wilmington, Mass.) picking up the assist. Less than two minutes later, Pelletier notched her first collegiate goals to give the Bears a 5-2 cushion.

Ciavardoni pulled the Wildcats to within two in the 66th minute as she scored off the rebound of a Heather Lind (Wakefield, Mass.) shot.

Pelletier answered 86 seconds later as she buried a shot inside the near post off a feed from sophomore midfielder Jacquelyn Legendre (Westport, Mass.) to give the Bears a 6-3 lead.

Just 28 ticks of the clock went by when a centering pass by Rivas set up Ciavardoni's second strike of the day and team-leading seventh of the season.

A minute later, Maher scored off a penalty corner with a shot from just inside the top of the circle to cap off the scoring.

Bridgewater finished with a 31-15 shot advantage as well as a 9-0 edge in penalty corner attempts. The seven goals marked the highest scoring output of the season for the Bears.

BSU sophomore goalkeeper Jillian Delaney (Foxboro, Mass.) turned aside seven shots to record her second win of the season. The Bears also received a key defensive save from McKenna with the game still in the balance at 3-2 in the second half.

Junior netminder Claire Nolan (West Bridgewater, Mass.) made seven saves between the pipes for Johnson & Wales.

The Bears travel to Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday for a key Little East Conference matchup with the Warriors starting at noon. The Wildcats host Springfield College on Thursday night at seven.