Westfield State Pushes Past Field Hockey In Season Opener

Kaleigh Anderson (@KaleighAnd1)

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Elms College field hockey team fell to Westfield State, 4-0, in their 2016 season opener at Alumni Field. The Blazers move to 0-1 on the season, while Westfield State improves to 1-0.

Westfield State wasted no time on the attack, testing sophomore Jillian Lapponese (Enfield, Conn.) and her defensive line on all fronts, firing their first shot of the contest at the 1:53 mark to which Lapponese deflected with ease. Lapponese racked in her second save of the contest at the 6:10 tally when junior Megan Evans (Enfield, Conn.) evaded her defender to blast an attempt. However, Westfield State was able to anchor their attack and light up the scoreboard after sophomore Carly Zona (Auburn, Mass.) knocked an unassisted shot to the back of the cage at the 6:30 tally.

The score would remain 1-0 heading into the second where despite Blazer efforts the Owls continued to push their lead. Sophomore Jordyn Goesselin (Bolton, VT.) posted the second goal for the Owl squad at the 9:22 marker off of an Evans assist as Gosselin was able to push the contribution past the right post goal line.

During a penalty call, senior Holly Brou­illette (Burlington, VT.) capitalized once again for Westfield on a loose ball in the box to post a 3-0 score. Ultimately, Evans made the fourth and final goal of the afternoon after rebounding her own shot and sending it to the back of the cage.

The Owls outshot the Blazers, 18-0, during the contest. Lapponese stopped 14 shots for the Blazers, while Westfield State senior Megan Fountaine (Scituate, Mass.) played a perfect game stopping 0 shots. The Blazers will return to action on Sunday, September 5^th where they will play Colby Sawyer for a 1PM start. The Owls will face off against Western New England September 3^rd with a 12PM start.

ELMS FIELD HOCKEY