Field Hockey Upends Bay Path

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College field hockey team steamrolled visiting Bay Path University, 8-0, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tilt at Leary Field Thursday evening. With the win, the Blazers rise to 6-11 overall, and 5-0 in the NECC, while the Wildcats slide to 0-4 in conference and 0-13 on the season.

In the 24^th minute, the Blazers broke a scoreless tie as they pumped four straight shots on goal with Elms sophomore Olivia Keane (Enfield, Conn.) tucked a shot inside the far post to stake the Blazers to a 1-0 lead. Just over six minutes later, Elms junior Madison Messier (Warren, Mass.) dribbled into the Wildcats attacking zone and ripped a shot inside the far side of the cage to push Elms ahead 2-0.

With 4:44 left in the first half, Messier raced towards goal and delivered a cross to the front of the Bay Path cage, where Elms junior Jeszenia McGuire (Brimfield, Mass.) knocked a shot past Wildcat senior keeper Bethany Rogers (Plymouth, Mass.) to hand the Blazers a 3-0 advantage at the half.

Just over three minutes into the second half, the Blazers continued the onslaught as freshman Evelyn DeVaux (Wethersfield, Conn.) played a long pass to the front of the cage, finding sophomore Madison Gabel (Agawam, Mass.), who spun around the keeper and tucked a shot into the back of the goal, making it 4-0. In the 40^th minute, Messier pocketed her second goal of the day as she fired a long shot from the top of the attack zone to expand the Elms lead to 5-0.

With 24:10 to play, Messier took possession near the far post and played a ball across the crease to the opposite post, where Gabel swooped in for the finish to put Elms on top 6-0. With 3:48 to play, the Blazers delivered Gabel threaded a pass through the Bay Path defense to Keane at the post for the finish, and then McGuire redirected a shot from senior Alyssa Falvo (Wilbraham, Mass.) in the final minute to send Elms to the 8-0 victory.

The Blazers dominated the shot column, pumping a season-high 41 shots to just one for the Wildcats. Elms junior keeper Jillian Lapponese (Enfield, Conn.) posted her third shutout of the season, while Rogers registered a game-high 22 saves in the loss.

The Blazers will return to action with their regular season finale at Wheelock Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Bay Path hosts Becker in NECC action Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

ELMS FIELD HOCKEY