Field Hockey Falls to UMass Dartmouth, 2-1

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting UMass Dartmouth field hockey team rallied from a one-goal halftime deficit to post a 2-1 Little East Conference victory over Bridgewater State University on Wednesday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The Corsairs improve to 7-8 on the season and 5-5 in the Little East, while the Bears fall to 2-12 overall and 2-8 in conference play.

Junior forward Olivia Ahlman (Halifax, Mass.) found the back of the net off a rebound of a Jacquelyn Legendre (Westport, Mass.) shot 4:42 into the second quarter to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. The sequence featured five consecutive shots with Ahlman tucking the fifth attempt between the keeper's pads for her team-leading third goal of the season.

The Bears, who outshot the Corsairs 17-4 in the first half, took the 1-0 advantage into the break. UMass junior goalkeeper Katelyn Banalewicz (Fall River, Mass.) made 12 saves over the first 30 minutes to keep it a one-goal game. Sophomore defender Samantha Bittenbender (Belvidere, N.J.) also recorded a defensive save for the Corsairs in the first half.

UMass controlled play throughout the second half and knotted the score at 1-1 with 3:11 remaining in the third quarter as junior forward Desarai Melendez (Brockton, Mass.) redirected a short crossing pass from sophomore midfielder Lydia Stormwind (Littleton, Mass.) into the left side of the net.

Just 45 seconds in the final period, junior defender Hannah Steen (Fall River, Mass.) scored off a penalty corner to give the Corsairs a 2-1 lead. Steen's shot from just inside the circle deflected off a Bridgewater defender and into the left side of the cage. Senior defender Hailey Boucher (Leicester, Mass.), who took the corner, was credited with the assist.

After being decidedly outshot in the first half, the Corsairs held a 10-4 shot advantage over the final 30 minutes. UMass also finished with a 14-5 edge in penalty corner attempts with seven of the 14 corners coming in the fourth quarter.

Banalewicz finished with 14 saves on the afternoon as she recorded her seventh win of the season. Senior netminder Jillian Delaney (Foxborough, Mass.) turned aside nine shots, six in the second half, in the setback for the Bears.

The Little East schedule continues for both teams on Saturday. The Bears travel to Western Connecticut State University to take on the Colonials at noon, while the Corsairs host the University of Southern Maine Huskies at seven.