Field Hockey Holds Off Southern Maine for 2-1 Victory
Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University field hockey team tallied a pair of second half goals to defeat the University of Southern Maine 2-1 this afternoon in Little East Conference (LEC) action at Maple Street Field.
With the win, the Rams improve to 9-5 on the season and 3-5 in the conference, while the Huskies fall to 5-11 overall and 2-6 in the Little East.
The Rams broke open a scoreless game with a goal in the opening minutes of the season half. Junior Kaitlyn Ranieri (Bellingham, Mass.) sent a cross from the right side into the circle to classmate Cassandra Koegel (Groveland, Mass.) and Koegel placed a shot into the cage for the 1-0 lead.
The lead would be short lived as just over a minute later Southern Maine would tally the equalizer. Sophomore forward Peyton Dostie (Standish, ME) beat three Framingham defenders and slipped a shot past the goalkeeper for her team leading 9th goal of the season with 30:04 remaining in the game.
The game would remain deadlocked at one until the closing minutes when the Rams were able to find the back of the net for the game winner. Ranieri once again sent a cross into the circle, this time to freshman Cady Kelly (Canton, Mass.). Kelly collected the ball and knocked home her second of the season.
Southern Maine had one last chance to tie the game in the final minute, but their shot from close range sailed wide of the net by no more than six inches.
The Rams outshot the Huskies 11-9 and held a 9-0 edge in penalty corners. Senior Sarah Ryan (Uxbridge, Mass.) made eight saves and picked up her 9th victory of the season, while junior Kayla Kennedy (Windham, ME) made eight stops and was tagged with the loss for the Huskies.
The Rams return to Little East action next Wednesday afternoon at Plymouth State at 3:30 p.m., while the Huskies travel to LEC foe Worcester State on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.