Anna Maria Edges Field Hockey, 2-1

Kaleigh Anderson (@KaleighAnd1) 

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College field hockey team fell in an intense battle, 2-1, to the visiting Anna Maria Amcats Tuesday evening at Leary Field. With the loss, the Blazers shift to 0-4 on the season, while the AMCATS improve to 2-3 overall.

The first half saw over thirty minutes of scoreless back and forth play as each squad shifted up and down the field. The AMCATS fired the first shot of the evening at the 2:09 marker to which sophomore Jillian Lapponese (Enfield, Conn.) deflected with ease. Elms saw big defensive transfers from sophomore Chambrielle Genga Richards (South Windsor, Conn.) as she posted a vital defensive save at the 22:41 tally to keep Anna Maria off the scoreboard.

However with a little under five minutes remaining in the first half, Anna Maria connected off of a corner as leading scorer senior Kaitlyn Moran (Leicester, Mass.) sent the ball to the back of the cage to give the AMCATS the advantage going into halftime. 

As the second half got underway Elms wasted little time applying pressure on the attack, however it was Moran who struck again for Anna Maria capturing her second and final goal of the evening off of a break away opportunity. The Blazers remained consistent pushing runs up and down the green until sophomore Madison Messier (Warren, Mass.) was able to crack the scoreboard at the 46:07 tally off of a feed from sophomore Jeszenia McGuire (Branfield, Mass.) to keep Elms in the running.

Despite the Blazer defensive powering out consistent breakups the AMCATS were able to nurse their lead to the final buzzer. 

The AMCATS outshot the Blazers, 21-4, during the contest. Lapponese stopped 13 shots for the Blazers, while junior keeper Bryanna Tobin (Deep River, Conn.) captured two saves for the AMCATS. 

The Blazers will return to action on Saturday September 17th as they will travel to Lasell for a 12:00 p.m. start. The AMCATS will face off against Rivier on the road September 17th with a 12:00 p.m. game time.