DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Freshman Allie Giguere's (Lynn, Mass.) goal in the 57th minute proved to be the game-winner and lifted Westfield State to a 4-3 Little East Conference field hockey victory over UMass Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Cressy Field.
Giguere's goal came on a scramble in front of the net for the visiting Owls (3-6, 2-3 LEC) in a match that saw three ties and four lead changes. Westfield State grabbed a 1-0 advantage 3:17 into the contest when freshman Cheryl Latona (Granby, Conn.) converted a pass from Giguere, but the host Corsairs (1-6, 1-3 Little East) evened matters in the 17th minute when junior Bridget Harrington (Florence, Mass.) netted her third marker of the fall from the right side of the cage on a feed from fellow junior Hailey Boucher (Leicester, Mass.). Senior Carly Zona's (Auburn, Mass.) penalty stroke conversion just four minutes later gave the Owls the edge once again, but UMass Dartmouth scored the equalizer with 48 seconds remaining the half after freshman Kylie Dias (Fall River, Mass.) knocked in a crossing pass from sophomore Mikella DaSilva (Fall River, Mass.) on a breakaway.
Giguere, who finished the day with five points, set up senior Brittany Bowes (Leicester, Mass.) from the right side to give Westfield State a 3-2 lead, but the Corsairs forged the final tie of the day less than three minutes later when senior Mary Brown (Leicester, Mass.) knocked in a Harrington pass from the right side for her second goal of the season, setting up Giguere's heroics in the closing stages.
Sophomore Katie Vamosi (Easton, Mass.) picked up her first win of the season with a four save effort in goal for Westfield State, while senior Allison Burke (Franklin, Mass.) made five stops in the setback for UMass Dartmouth. The Owls outshot the Corsairs by a 13-9 margin overall (9-7 on goal), but the hosts held a 12-10 edge in penalty corners for the contest.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Southern Maine in a Little East match on Tuesday evening at Cressy Field beginning at 7:00 pm, while Westfield State entertains Eastern Connecticut in a Little East contest on Tuesday evening in Westfield, Mass. that also begins at 7:00 pm.
- Story courtesy UMD Sports Information