Field Hockey Drops 5-0 Little East Decision to Worcester State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Worcester State University field hockey team posted a 5-0 shutout over Bridgewater State University in a Little East Conference tilt on Wednesday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The Lancers improve to 7-2 on the season and 3-0 in the Little East, while the Bears fall to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The win marked Worcester State's first at Swenson Field since 2006 (Sept. 27).

Senior forward Olivia Antonelli (Acushnet, Mass.) opened the scoring for the Lancers with just 17 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Antonelli redirected a crossing passing from classmate Katelyn Santos (Acushnet, Mass.) into the top-right corner of the net.

Senior midfielder Rachel Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) notched an unassisted goal with 11:41 remaining in the second quarter to make it a 2-0 game. Hopkins intercepted an attempted clearance pass and ripped a shot inside the left post.

Worcester sophomore goalkeeper Jess Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) stopped a breakaway bid by BSU junior forward Olivia Ahlman (Halifax, Mass.) late in the second quarter to keep the shutout intact.

Antonelli notched her second goal of the afternoon 2:28 into the third quarter as she stickhandled near three defenders in front of the net and deposited a shot inside the right post.

Senior defender Sarah Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) scored off the rebound of a Coley Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) shot late in the third period to extend the Lancer lead to 4-0.

Sophomore midfielder Lexie Panagiotopoulos (Lowell, Mass.) closed out the scoring just over five minutes into the final quarter. BSU senior netminder Jillian Delaney (Foxborough, Mass.) made back-to-back saves before Panagiotopoulos buried a shot into the open right side of the cage.

The Bears were awarded a penalty stroke after Worcester senior defender Cassidy Windler (Holden, Mass.) made a defensive save with 8:48 remaining in the fourth quarter. BSU senior forward Jacquelyn Legendre (Westport, Mass.) nearly got the Bears on the board, but her penalty stroke attempt hit the crossbar.

The Lancers finished with a 35-6 shot advantage for the game as well as a 9-3 edge in penalty corner attempts.

Hopkins and sophomore Kacy Florence (Methuen, Mass.) combined on the shutout for Worcester State with Hopkins making one save in just over 56 minutes (56:04) of action. Florence did not face a shot as she played the final 3:56.

Delaney turned aside 14 shots between the pipes for the Bears. She is averaging 12.06 saves per 60 minutes this season.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Westfield State University on Saturday morning for an 11 o'clock Little East game with the Owls. The Lancers are off until next Tuesday night when they head to Westfield to take on the Owls at seven.