Alina Willing
Alina Willing

Field Hockey Uses Two Second Half Goals to Defeat Regis

Weston, Mass. – A pair of second half goals helped propel Framingham State University over Regis College, 2-0, on Wednesday night in non-conference field hockey action. The Rams improve to 1-0 on the year, while the Pride drop to 0-2.

Framingham State came out the aggressor, taking a pair of shots and earning the first penalty corner of the contest only six minutes into the game. Their best chance came early as Pride keeper Raegan Heck (Phillipston, Mass.) turned away a Kaitlyn Ranieri (Bellingham, Mass.) attempt at her feet. FSU's Shannon O'Malley (Worcester, Mass.) corralled the loose ball and fired a shot on net, but Kym Kerr (Uxbridge, Mass.) was there to turn the shot away for the defensive save and preserve the 0-0 tie.

The Rams kept the pressure up throughout the half as Framingham State outshot the Pride at a 9-1 clip and earned all six penalty corners in the period. Heck and the Pride defense were up to the task however, as Heck made three saves, while Kerr had a pair of defensive stops with Stacy Burns (Waltham, Mass.) adding one of her own to keep the Rams off the board.

Laurie DeMars (Maynard, Mass.) had a chance to strike first in the opening minutes of the second half, but her attempt went wide of its mark keeping the game scoreless. Framingham State came down on the ensuing possession and Cassandra Koegel (Groveland, Mass.) blasted a shot on net that went high into the air off Heck's pads. FSU's Alina Willing (Natick, Mass.) struck the ball out of the air and into the back of the cage to put the Rams on top 1-0 with just under 30 minutes remaining in regulation.

Nearly four minutes later, Framingham State forced the issue again as they pushed the ball deep into Regis territory and Willing sent a pass across the front of the net that was tapped in by Cady Kelly (Canton, Mass.) just inside the post to put FSU on top 2-0. Regis' Christine O'Toole (Boston, Mass.) and Melinda Sutton (Eliot, Maine) put a pair of shots on net in the final five minutes of action, but the Pride could not find the back of the net as FSU held on for the 2-0 win.

Framingham State outshot the Pride at a 15-6 clip and took six penalty corners in the game. Alina Willing had a goal and an assist for the Rams, while Kelly and Koegel also registered points for the visitors. Rosemary Balanca-Talbot (Whitinsville, Mass.) picked up her first career win in net, making a pair of saves.

Christine O'Toole (2), Laurie DeMars (2), and Melinda Sutton (2) took all six shots for the Pride, while Yasmine Akib (Everett, Mass.) joined Kerr and Burns with defensive saves. Raegan Heck suffered the setback while making six saves in net.

The Pride return to action on Friday night when they travel to Wheaton College for a 7 p.m. matchup. Framingham State takes on Wheelock College on Saturday afternoon in a 12 p.m. game.

 

 

Release courtesy of Regis Sports Information.