Falcons Soar Past Raiders in Season Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rivier (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Fitchburg St. (1-0) | 2 | 5 | 7 |
Falcons Soar Past Raiders in Season Opener
Senior Denning Notches Hat-Trick
Fitchburg, Mass. – Senior Rachael Denning (Salem, NH) notched a hat-trick to lead the Fitchburg State University field hockey team to a decisive 7-0 victory over the Raiders of Rivier University in non-conference action on Friday afternoon at Elliot Field.
The Basics
Score: Fitchburg State University 7, Rivier 0
Records: Fitchburg State University (1-0) | Rivier (0-1)
How It Happened
The Falcons potted their first goal of the season, at the 14 minute mark, when freshman Nicole Tocco (Gloucester, Mass.) picked up a loose ball in front of Rivier netminder Emily Foster (West Lebanon, NH) for her first collegiate score.
Rachael Denning doubled the Green and Gold lead when freshman Chloe Gladu (North Reading, Mass.) threaded a seeing-eye pass through the scrum in the circle to a streaking senior on the right post for her first tally of the season and a 2-0 lead before halftime.
Senior Bailey Miller (Leominster, Mass.) tallied two goals in the first ten minutes of the second half to push the lead to 4-0.
Freshman Sophia Laperle (Auburn, Mass.) tipped the twine for her first collegiate goal, while Denning wrapped up the scoring with a pair of insurance goals for the hat-trick.
Rivier was led by sophomores Jaclyn Fraser (Wilmington, Mass.) and Samantha White (Waltham, Mass.), who both had two shots on goal.
Inside the Numbers
FSU Senior Jillian Schultze (Winchendon, Mass.) had one defensive save.
Denning's three goals were her first three goals of her career (53 games).
FSU goaltender Kasey Mammone (Leominster, Mass.) posted 6 saves for her first career win and shutout.
This is the eighth meeting between the two teams, Fitchburg State University lead the series 8-0.
Foster collected 12 saves in 50 minutes of action for the Raiders.
Up Next
The Falcons return to the pitch on Wednesday, September 6th when they host Southern Maine in a Little East Conference contest starting at 7:00pm. Rivier is back in action on September 7th when they host Bay Path at 7:00pm.