Bridgewater State Squeaks Past Fitchburg State, 2-1

Roma registers team-leading 12th marker of the season in LEC setback

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (October 9, 2010) – The Fitchburg State field hockey saw its three game-winning streak come to an end as the Falcons dropped a tough Little East Conference match to Bridgewater State, 2-1 this afternoon.

After a scoreless first half, play began to heat up over the final 35 minutes as both teams combined for 11 shots in the period. Hampered by penalties early in the period, Fitchburg State played down a lady as the Bears enjoyed a five minute, one-player advantage. Sophomore Beth Phillips (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) had an opportunity one minute into the power play when she was one-on-one with Falcon goaltender Abbie Brown (Westwood, Mass./Westwood), but Brown stood strong, denying the Phillips any chance on net. Three minutes later, Bridgewater State took advantage of an awarded penalty corner as senior forward Bethany Bush (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) found the back of the net to give the Bears a 1-0 advantage.

Bridgewater State was able to capitalize again off of a penalty corner in the 63rd minute as senior forward Nicole Henrique (Swansea, Mass./Joseph Case) sent a shot toward the goal and onto the stick of Phillips who redirected the ball for a 2-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Fitchburg State cut the Bear lead in half off its own corner as sophomore Jamie Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) directed a pass to senior Mari Roma (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough). Roma converted the play with a one-timer, notching her team-leading 12th goal of the season.

The Fitchburg State comeback ran out of the steam towards the end of the contest however as Bridgewater State goaltender Katie Weber (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) and the Bears defense kept the Falcons off the board the remainder of the game. Weber turned aside four shots to pick up her fifth win of the season, while Brown finished with one save for the Falcons.  

Fitchburg State (7-4, 4-3 LEC) will be in action again on Thursday as it travels to Nichols College at 7 p.m. Bridgewater State (5-4, 4-1 LEC) will host Salem State University on Monday at 12 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Bridgewater State 2, Fitchburg State 1

Scoring:
1st Half: none
2nd Half: BSU: Bethany Bush (Liz Correia), 52:42; BSU: Beth Phillips (Nicole Henrique), 62:57; FIT: Mari Roma (Jamie Kelley), 64:40;
Goalkeeping: FIT: Abbie Brown (56:03), one save; Rachel Mays (13:57), no saves: BSU: Katie Weber (70:00), four saves;
Shots: FIT: 9; BSU: 9