Rivier College Outlasts Field Hockey, 2-0
CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore goalkeeper
Alexandra Bonavita (Agawam, Mass.) collected 17
saves, but a pair of first half goals by Rivier College paced the
Raiders to a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the Blazers in Saturday
afternoon's non-conference field hockey contest at Leary
Field.
With the loss, Elms moves to 0-5 overall, while Rivier improves to 1-2 with its first win of the season.
Rivier scored its first goal six minutes into the contest when Ashley Ruocco (East Kingston, N.H.) delivered a pass into the middle of the circle that Kayla O'Reilly (Marshfield, Mass.) drilled into the back of the net, giving the Raiders their first score of the 2010 season and a 1-0 lead.
The play continued back and forth until the 21:56 mark when Rivier's Erin Gatsas (Manchester, N.H.) controlled the ball off a deflection and sent it into the cage, upping the Raiders' lead to 2-0.
Rivier continued to pressure Elms in the second half, but a stellar effort from the Blazers' defensive unit, including sophomore Rachel Butt (Agawam, Mass.), senior Heather Keith (South Hadley, Mass.), junior Emily McInerney (Glastonbury, Conn.), freshman Julie Hurley (Palmer, Mass.) and senior Laura Sweetman (Springfield, Mass.), and 11 saves from Bonavita, shut out Rivier for the rest of the game.
Gatsas placed six shots on goal for the Raiders, while O'Reilly and Ruocco fired four shots on target each in the winning effort. Goalkeeper Nicole Hauswirth (Cranston, R.I.) notched a pair of saves to help preserve the win.
Elms returns to the field on Sept. 23 when it travels to Westfield State University for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference tilt with the Owls.
