Fitchburg State Falls to WPI, 3-0
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (1-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
WPI (2-1) | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Holewa and Valentin combine to stop five shots in Falcons non-conference setback
WORCESTER, Mass. (September 10, 2013) – Five different players collected a point as WPI defeated Fitchburg State, 3-0 in non-conference field hockey action at Alumni Field this evening.
WPI jumped out to an early lead just 2:16 into the opening stanza as junior Mercedes Kuzina (Concord, N.H./Tilton School) collected a pass from sophomore Nicole Holmes (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) and blasted a shot into the cage for the 1-0 margin.
The Engineers upped their advantage in the 17th minute of action when freshman forward Jena Massucco (Danbury, Conn./Immaculate) sent a rocket into the upper right corner for her first collegiate tally for the 2-0 lead.
The Crimson and Grey added an insurance marker at the 27:57 mark as sophomore midfielder Katie Correia (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) redirected a shot off the stick of classmate Hope Shevchuk (Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills) for the 3-0 advantage heading into intermission.
In the second half of play, Fitchburg State turned up the offensive pressure, as freshman Madeline Hoffman (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield), junior Amber Nunes (West Wareham, Mass./New Bedford), and senior Rebecca Bush (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) all had quality scoring chances but sophomore net-minder Lauren Puishys (Oxford, Mass./Oxford) was able to turn away all three shots to preserve the 3-0 victory for the hosts.
Throughout the contest, WPI held a 14-6 advantage in shots, while limiting the Falcons to just five penalty corners. In the cage, junior Lucy Holewa (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) and sophomore Judith Valentin (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) combined to stop five shots for Fitchburg State, while Puishys collected four second half saves for the Engineers.
Fitchburg State (1-1, 0-0 LEC) will be back in action on Thursday as it travels to Rivier University to take on the Raiders at 7 p.m. WPI (2-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will visit Bridgewater State University on Thursday for a contest starting at 7 p.m.