Hat-Trick by Bush Carries Bridgewater State Past Nor'easters
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – In Little East Conference field hockey action, the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated host Bridgewater State College, 2-1, this afternoon in Bridgewater. With the loss, Bridgewater drops to 10-5 on the season and 6-4 in the Little East Conference. Southern Maine improves to 12-5 overall and 8-2 in conference play.
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Freshman forward
Bethany Bush (Littleton, MA) scored three
consecutive goals-all in the first half--to lead the Bridgewater
State College Bears to a 3-2 non-conference fieldhockey victory
over the University of New England Nor'easters Wednesday
evening.
The natural hat trick was the second of the season for Bush who
also accomplished the feat on October 11th in a 4-2 win at Salve
Regina. The victory halts a brief two-game losing streak for the
Bears, who improve to 11-5. The Nor'easters conclude their regular
season with a mark of 5-10.
UNE jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when senior Lisa Baillargeon (Berlin, NH) controlled a drive by fellow senior Amy Williams (Bridgewater, NH) and knocked the ball in the back of the cage 4:46 into the match.
The Bears would come roaring back midway through the opening frame. Bush initiated her hat-trick at the 17:31 mark to tie things at 1-all. She would score the game-winner less than three minutes later, then converted an Ashley Panzini (Saugus, MA) pass just before the half to give the Bears a 3-1 advantage heading to intermission. Bush's three scores push her team-leading total to 12 on the season.
The Nor'easters would slice the deficit in half 8:17 into the second stanza when Baillargeon crossed the ball to junior Kim Anderson (Bowdoin, ME), who pushed home her third goal of the season.
Starting senior goalie Nicole Downs (Hanover, MA) made two saves in the first half to record the win for the Bears. Freshman Katie Weber (Arlington, MA) came off the bench to register three stops in the second half, including a key save with just over 11 minutes to play and another on the closing penalty corner.
Senior keeper Tanya Callan (Brick, NJ) and freshman Ayla Nelson (Auburn, MA) combined to turn away four shots for UNE.
Bridgewater State will conclude its regular season Saturday at
Plymouth State University (noontime start). The Nor'easters have
qualified for The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament and are
likely to host an opening-round game Saturday. An official
announcement is scheduled to be released later tonight or sometime
tomorrow morning.
Release courtesy of the University of New England Sports
Information department