Fitchburg State Holds Off Johnson and Wales, 1-0 (PS)

Holewa collects nine stops in Falcons first victory of 2014

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (September 4, 2014) – Junior Erin Morrissey (Hubbardston, Mass.) put home the game-winning tally in the sixth round of a penalty shootout as the Fitchburg State field hockey defeated Johnson & Wales University, 1-0 (2-1 PS) in non-conference field hockey action at the Scotts Mircile-Gro Athletic Complex in Providence.

Both teams trade scoring chances throughout the opening 35 minutes of play, combining for six shots on target, Fitchburg State's best offensive opportunity came at the 6:22 mark as sophomore Madeline Hoffman (Mansfield, Mass.) and newcomer Bailey Miller (Leominster, Mass.) each had shots turned aside by Wildcat netminder Shannon Yoder (Boyertown, Penn.)

Not to be outdone, Falcon keeper Lucy Holewa(Londonderry, N.H.) matched Yoder save for save, stopping a pair of shot off the stick of senior Courtney McTague (Saugus, Mass.) and one by junior Amanda Takach (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) to preserve the 0-0 stalemate going into the break.

In the second half, Fitchburg State nearly broke the 0-0 deadlock in the 62nd minute of action as sophomore Julia Pecoraro (Yarmouth, Mass.) intercepted a pass at midfield and raced up the field, but Yoder made an outstanding kick save to her left on the breakaway attempt to send the game into overtime.

Following a pair of 15 minute scoreless overtime periods to force a shootout, Fitchburg State successfully converted two of their shootout opportunities as Miller and Morrissey were able to find the back of the cage, resulting in the 1-0 victory

Fitchburg State controlled the offensive end, out-shooting Johnson and Wales by a 19-15 margin, including a 14-9 advantage in shots on goal. In the cage, Holewa was stellar in net for the Falcon, making nine stops en-route to the victory, while Yoder was just as impressive, posting 14 saves for the Wildcats in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (1-1, 0-0 LEC) returns to action on Tuesday as it hosts the Engineers of WPI at 4 p.m. Johnson and Wales (0-3, 0-0 NAC) will host Roger Williams University on Sunday at 1 p.m.