Roger Williams Nips Fitchburg State, 1-0

Valentin collects six saves for Falcons in 2014 season opener

Bristol, R.I. (August 30, 2014) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team opened the 2014 campaign this evening, dropping a tough 1-0 decision to Roger Williams University on the road in non-conference field hockey action.

Roger Williams grabbed the lead at the 21:51 mark of the first half as sophomore midfielder Meghan Curran (West Milford, N.J.) raced up the left side of the field and deposited the ball into the back of the cage for first marker of the season for the 1-0 lead

The Falcons nearly knotted the score in the 34th minute of play when sophomore forward Hannah Mason (Leominster, Mass.) and freshman Bailey Miller (Leominster, Mass.) put shots on frame, but Hawks goalie Melora Lavoie (Poland, Maine) made a pair of saves to preserve the 1-0 advantage after 35 minutes of play.

In the second half, Fitchburg State continued to press as junior Erin Morrissey (Hubbardston, Mass.), Miller and sophomore Julia Pecoraro (Yarmouthport, Mass.) saw scoring chance turned away by Lavoie as the Hawks held on for the 1-0 victory.

 Throughout the match, Fitchburg State held an 10-9 margin in shots, while also holding a slim 4-3 advantage in penalty corners. In the cage, junior Judith Valentin (Brockton, Mass.) finished with six stops for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while Lavoie made five saves for Roger Williams en-route to her first victory of the year.

Fitchburg State (0-1  0-0 LEC) will be back in action on Thursday as it travels to Johnson & Wales University for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Roger Williams (1-0, 0-0 TCCC) will visit Wesleyan University on Tuesday at 6 p.m.