Field Hockey Preview: Johnson & Wales

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College field hockey squad will look to maintain their winning ways with a non-conference battle against Johnson & Wales at Leary Field Tuesday afternoon.

The Blazers are 5-12 on the season, and 3-1 in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) standings, after orchestrating their current three-game winning streak last week. Elms blanked Regis, 3-0, followed by a 5-1 road thumping of Daniel Webster, and a 4-1 victory over Wheelock. The Blazers are averaging 1.6 goals per game on 10.9 shots, but during their three-game win streak Elms has averaged four goals on 21.6 shots. 

Senior forward Kayla Narey (South Hadley, Mass.) is the Blazers leading scorer with six goals, ranking fourth in the NECC, while senior forward Emma Morgan (South Kingstown, R.I.) has added five goals and four assists to lead Elms in points. Senior forward Meghan Goodrow (Sunderland, Mass.), senior midfielder Imogen Leonard (Sharon, Mass.), and senior forward Kelly Martin (Enfield, Conn.) have each contributed two goals on the season. Junior goalkeeper Samantha Alvino (Holtsville, N.Y.) has been a constant in between the pipes for the Blazers, ranking in the top 3 among four goaltending categories. Alvino leads the NECC in save percentage with a .810 mark, while ranking second in goals against (45) and goals against average (2.66), and third in saves (192).

The Wildcats will enter the matchup with an 11-6 overall record, and 4-2 mark in Great Northeast Athletic Conference. Johnson & Wales has won five of their last six matches, including a 12-0 drubbing of Wheelock College last Thursday. The Wildcats are producing 3.47 goals per contest on 21.5 shots with a 64.4 on goal percentage. 

Johnson & Wales is led by freshman forward Giovanna Ciavardoni (Latham, N.Y.) with a team-high 17 goals on 111 shots with six assists. Senior forward Courtney McTague (Saugus, Mass.) has recorded 12 goals and four assists, while freshman forward Katarina Brunette (Cohoes, N.Y.) and freshman midfielder Shaina Thompson (Delmar, Del.) have tallied seven goals apiece. Freshman goalie Shannon Yoder (Boyertown, Pa.) patrols the net for the Wildcats, posting a 1.52 goals against average and a .780 save percentage with 85 saves and six shutouts.

This will be the first meeting between the schools in program history. The teams have played eight common opponents in 2014, with Johnson & Wales going 8-0 against those teams, while Elms was 5-3. The Wildcats outscored those teams 39-4 in the eight matches, to the 21-15 rate of the Blazers.

Faceoff is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Leary Field.

ELMS FIELD HOCKEY