Fitchburg State Falls To Plymouth State, 5-0

Ta. Van Ahnen stops 12 shots in Falcon setback

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 18, 2008) - The Fitchburg State field hockey team fell to Plymouth State University, 5-0, in Little East Conference action this afternoon at Elliot Field.

Senior Amanda Gutowski (Brookfield, N.H./Kingswood) led the Plymouth State scoring surge with a game-high five points on two goals and one assist, while junior Sarah Smith  (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) added two scores in the contest. Sophomore Kristina Conroy (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) chipped in with one score and freshman Lauren Bergeron (New Hampton, N.H./Newfound) notched one assist.

Plymouth State opened the contest with four first half goals to clinch its sixth victory of the season. Conroy sparked the scoring surge with her fifth goal of the season just 5:37 into the game, while Gutowski netted two first half scores to pace the Panthers..

Fitchburg State fired back in the second half with several shots on net, but Panther freshman Elyse Sedgley (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton) totaled three second half saves to silence the Falcons. The Panthers added a late insurance goal in the second half on Smith's team-leading tenth goal of the season to secure the victory.

Plymouth State out-shot Fitchburg State 19-14 in the match, with a 16-2 advantage in corner shots. Sophomore Taylor Van Ahnen (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk) led the Falcons defensively, totaling 12 saves in the complete game effort, while Sedgley stopped six shots for the Panthers

Fitchburg State (7-7, 4-4 LEC) will be in action again on Wednesday as it travels to Westfield State College at 7 p.m. Plymouth State (6-6, 5-3 LEC) will host Thomas College on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Plymouth State 5, Fitchburg State 0  

Scoring:
First Half: PSU: Kristina Conroy (Lauren Bergeron), 5:37; PSU: Ashley Gutowski, 11:02; PSU: Sarah Smith (Gutowski), 17:15; PSU: Gutowski, 31:18;
Second Half:  PSU: Smith (Morgan Lemmon), 60:58;
Goaltending: FSC: Taylor Van Ahnen (70:00), 12 saves; PSU: Elyse Sedgley (70:00), six saves;
Shots On Goal: FSC: 14; PSU: 19