Late Goal Lifts Regis Past Field Hockey in Season Opener
Weston, Mass. – The Framingham State University field hockey team opened the 2015 season on the road this afternoon and suffered a 2-1 setback to Regis College as the Pride's Jeszy McGuire tallied the go ahead goal in the 68th minute of action.
The win pushes the Pride to 1-0 on the young season, while the Rams fall to 0-1. Senior goalie Raegan Heck (Phillipston, Mass.) made 16 saves to lead the Pride, while junior Rosemary Talbot (Whitinsville, Mass.) suffered the setback while making four saves.
In the opening half, Regis had the best chance early as Aineen Callahan (Diamond Point, N.Y.) fired a shot on net that was tipped wide by Laurie DeMars (Maynard, Mass.) and into the side of the net. Framingham State turned up the intensity and controlled play as they kept the ball in the Regis half of the field for the final 19 minutes of the first half.
FSU's best chance of the period came in the 23rd minute as sophomore Amie Souza (Taunton, Mass.) fired a shot on net that was turned away by Heck. The rebound bounced out to freshman Meaghann Ackerman (Littleton, Mass.) and she took a shot on the opposite post, but Laurie DeMars deflected the ball away to keep the Rams off the board.
The Rams took 13 shots and forced 10 penalty corners in the opening half, but could not find the back of the net as the game entered the break at a 0-0 draw.
Nearly 10 minutes into the second frame, Regis worked the ball deep into Ram territory and earned four-straight penalty corners. On the final one, the ball swung to Jenna Casello (Westborough, Mass.) and the junior fired in front where Hailee Forest (Amherst, N.H.) took a shot that went high. Laurie DeMars jumped into the air and tipped the ball into the back of the net to give the Pride a 1-0 lead.
The Rams did not wait long to respond, as just under five minutes later they found the equalizer in similar fashion. The ball made its way up top to Ackerman, and she fired a ball on net that found the stick of fellow freshman Bailey Donelly (Framingham, Mass.). Donelly played a ball along that goal line and found junior Sharon Sears (East Bridgewater, Mass.) on the back post for an open goal that tied the score 1-1.
With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Pride were awarded a penalty corner. After the ball made its way around the circle, it eventually ended up on the stick of Alycia LeConche (Simsbury, Conn.). The freshman slipped a pass to her classmate McGuire, who buried the shot to help the Pride jump out to a 2-1 lead with 1:32 to play.
Framingham State made one final push, earning a pair of penalty corners with no time on the clock. Ackerman's shot on the first corner was turned away by the Regis defense, but clipped a player's foot, leading to another corner. Ackerman took another shot on the next corner, but this time Heck kicked the ball out to the top of the circle where a Regis defender cleared the ball and ended the game.
The Rams held a 24-11 in shots in the contest while earning 19 penalty corners to 10 for the Pride.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon as Regis travels to Norton, Mass. to take on Wheaton College at 12 p.m. Framingham State hosts Maine-Farmington in their home opener at Maple Street Field scheduled for 2 p.m.
Release courtesy of Regis Sports Information.