Ahlman Leads Field Hockey to Shootout Win over Fitchburg State

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University field hockey team earned its first win of the 2019 season as the visiting Bears defeated Little East Conference rival Fitchburg State University, 2-1, in a shootout on Tuesday afternoon at Elliot Field.

The Bears improve to 1-7 on the season and 1-3 in the Little East, while the Falcons fall to 1-10 overall and 0-5 in conference play.

The win also marked the first collegiate coaching victory for BSU rookie head coach, Julia Mauro

Junior forward Olivia Ahlman (Halifax, Mass.) netted her first goal of the season and also scored in the shootout to help lead the Bears to the dramatic win.

Bridgewater State nearly opened the scoring in the first period as Ahlman put back-to-back shots on frame, but Falcon keeper Colleen Lamprey (Cherry Valley, Mass.) was able to deny both chances.

Fitchburg State grabbed the 1-0 lead in the 25th minute of play when sophomore forward Sarah Craig (Winchendon, Mass.) slipped a shot inside the near post off an assist from sophomore defender Jordan Bartell (Fitchburg, Mass.).The goal was the second of the season for Craig.

Following the break, the Bears knotted the score at 1-1 with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter as Ahlman collected the rebound of her own shot and flipped a backhander into the back of the cage over the sprawled out keeper.

Neither team was able to break the tie in regulation or through two overtime sessions as the contest would go into a shootout.

In the shootout, both teams scored once over their first four attempts with Ahlman converting for the Bears and Craig for the Falcons. Senior forward Jacquelyn Legendre (Westport, Mass.) beat the Fitchburg netminder on the Bears' fifth attempt to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. BSU senior goalkeeper Jillian Delaney (Foxborough, Mass.) then came up with a clutch stop on the Falcons' final attempt to secure the shootout win.

Fitchburg State held a slim 17-16 edge in shots, while also finishing with an 8-5 margin in penalty corners.

Delaney stopped 11 shots for the Bears in the victory. Lamprey made 12 saves for the Falcons in the setback.

Freshman defender Maddison Arpano (Lunenburg, Mass.) tallied one defensive save for the Green and Gold.

This afternoon's contest marked the 34th meeting between the two squads in the sport of field hockey with the Bears holding a 26-7-1 advantage in the all-time series. Bridgewater State has also won nine of the last ten matchups.

The Little East schedule continues for both teams on Saturday afternoon. The Bears host the Huskies of the University of Southern Maine at 4:30, while the Falcons travel to Worcester State University for a three o'clock game with the Lancers.