James, Ellis Lead Field Hockey to 5-1 Win Over UMass Dartmouth

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore forward Lexi James (Ipswich, Mass.) tallied a goal and two assists, and freshman forward Madison Ellis (Attleboro, Mass.) potted a pair of goals, to lead the Bridgewater State University field hockey team to a 5-1 victory over visiting UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday night at Mazzaferro Field.

The Bears improve to 4-8-1 on the season while the Corsairs fall to 3-11. Bridgewater is 24-18-4 versus the Corsairs since 1973.

Ellis opened the scoring midway through the first quarter as she blasted a shot into the left side of the cage with freshman midfielder Abbie Zuber (Westport, Mass.) picking up the assist.

Ellis slipped a wrist shot inside the left post off a short centering pass from senior forward Zoe Bergeron (Blackstone, Mass.) to extend the BSU lead to 2-0 just 58 seconds into the second period. The goal marked her fourth of the season.

Sophomore midfielder Raegen Perry (Nantucket, Mass.) scored on a one-timer off a short pass from James to make it a 3-0 came in the 19th minute. The goal was Perry's third of the season.

The Corsairs got on the board thanks to a penalty stroke goal by senior defender Maggie McCafferty (West Bridgewater, Mass.) with 1:11 left to play in the first half.

After a scoreless third period, James reclaimed the three-goal advantage for the Bears in the 51st minute as she stickhandled in from midfield and blasted a shot into the center of the cage for her team-leading ninth marker of the 2023 campaign.

James sent sophomore forward Brianna Gagnon (Tewksbury, Mass.) in on breakaway with just over two minutes left to play. Gagnon slipped a shot past the charging netminder for her fifth goal of the season to cap off the 5-1 win.

Bridgewater finished with a 16-4 shot advantage for the game while UMass held a slight 7-6 edge in penalty corner attempts.

Freshman goalkeeper Kailey Hutchinson (Attleboro, Mass.) made one save to pick up her third win of the season between the pipes for the hosts. Junior netminder Hannah Trombly (Foxboro, Mass.) made the start in goal for UMass and turned aside four shots in just under 53 minutes (52:55) of action.

The Bears host Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Framingham State University on Friday afternoon at four o'clock while the Corsairs travel to Plymouth State University on Saturday afternoon for a four o'clock Little East Conference (LEC) game with the Panthers.