Field Hockey Falls to UMass Dartmouth, 4-3

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Delaney Burns (Wayne, N.J.) tallied a pair of goals including the game-winning with 5:34 remaining to lift UMass Dartmouth over visiting Bridgewater State University, 4-3, in a Little East Conference field hockey matchup on Thursday evening at Cressy Field.

The Corsairs improve to 7-6 on the season and 5-4 in the Little East, while the Bears fall to 4-8 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

The Bears struck four minutes into the game when junior Samantha Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) corralled the ball inside the circle following a corner, finding an opening on the left side of the net to put her team ahead. The goal marked Hayes' team-leading tenth of the season.

After a break in the action, Bridgewater State doubled the lead in the 28th minute when senior Katherine McKenna (Wilmington, Mass.) fired a shot from the top of the circle, ricocheting off the stick of freshman Emma Daly (Foxborough, Mass.), who earned her fourth goal of the year in the process.

UMass Dartmouth answered just two minutes later when senior Erin Kish (Littleton, Mass.) moved the ball across the crease to Burns who finished the opportunity for her first marker of the night. In the 34th minute, it was Kish on the goal conversion as she rifled a shot to the back of the cage to tie the score at two apiece before the intermission.

After the break, the Corsairs took their first lead of the game in the 51st minute. Junior Ciara Anderson (Medway, Mass.) picked up her third goal of the year in unassisted fashion. The advantage lasted just 10 minutes as BSU senior Tori O'Dea (South Dennis, Mass.) mimicked the feat, tucking an unassisted goal into the right corner of the cage.

In the 64th minute, the Corsairs regained the advantage when Burns notched her second of the game and seventh of the season when she finished the scoring run without help.

Senior goalkeeper Allison Burke (Franklin, Mass.) made a stop in the final minute of play, putting the finishing touches on the 4-3 decision for UMass Dartmouth.

Bridgewater State controlled the shot total by a 21-15 margin including a 13-4 lead in the first half of play. The Corsairs used 11 shots in the second half to erase the deficit as three different players scored in the period.

Burke recorded a game-high seven saves and improved her record to 7-6.  BSU sophomore netminder Jillian Delaney (Foxboro, Mass.) turned aside two shots in the setback.

UMass Dartmouth held a 6-4 advantage in corner chances.

UMass Dartmouth looks to extend its three-game win streak on Saturday when Plymouth State comes to Cressy Field for a 4:00 P.M. matchup. Bridgewater State squares off with Western Connecticut State the same day at noon.