Seahawks erupt for five goals in second half to top Golden Bears, 5-1

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - The Salve Regina University field hockey team received five second half goals from five different players to defeat Western New England University by a score of 5-1 during a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match up at Gaudet Field on Sunday night. The win improves the Seahawks to 5-8 overall and 1-5 in the conference, while the Golden Bears drop to 4-12 on the season, including a 2-4 mark during CCC play.

The two teams battled through a scoreless first half before combining for six scores in the second period.

The Seahawks got things started by exploding for three goals in under two minutes of play. Senior Michelle Massey (Mendon, Mass.) scored the opening goal of the game off a feed from freshman Alexandria Rizzo (Hopedale, Mass.) at 38:33, and was followed by a Samantha Dalton (Falmouth, Mass.) tally set up by Lisa Bucci (Irvington, N.Y.) which turned out to be the eventual game-winner. Bucci then capped the offensive outburst with an unassisted goal at 40:20, collecting the rebound off a shot from Kelly Burke (Georgetown, Mass.) and knocking it home to give Salve Regina a 3-0 advantage.  

Burke extended the Seahawk lead to 4-0 when she found the back of the box on an unassisted tally in the 61st minute of play.

The Golden Bears clawed back in the 65th minute when sophomore Sarah Race (Cazenovia, N.Y.) fed Alyssa Chamberlain (Charlton, Mass.) for Western New England's first goal of the game.

However, the Seahawks sealed the victory three and a half minutes later when Michelle Massey assisted sophomore Stephanie Reilly (North Grafton, Mass.) for Salve Regina's fifth goal of the period.

Freshman Murphy McCann (Westerly, R.I.) earned the victory in net for the Seahawks, making a game-high 14 saves, while freshman goalkeeper Emily Mastropaolo (Cazenovia, N.Y.) stopped six shots in over 40 minutes of play for the Golden Bears.

Both teams will return to action on Wednesday, with the Golden Bears hosting Nichols at 7 p.m. and the Seahawks traveling to face Endicott at 4 p.m.