Sarah Thompson controls the ball for the Seahawks at Bridgewater State on Tuesday evening.
Sarah Thompson controls the ball for the Seahawks at Bridgewater State on Tuesday evening.

First 4-0 start for Seahawk field hockey after 3-1 win against Bears

BRIDGWATER, Mass. The visiting Salve Regina University field hockey team earned a 3-1 victory over Bridgewater State University on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.

The Seahawks remain unbeaten on the season as they improve to 4-0.  The Bears slip to 1-3 after suffering their third straight setback.

Junior forward Alexisse Clinger (Nantucket, Mass.) staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead when she knocked in a loose ball into a wide open left side of the net.  BSU sophomore midfielder Brittany Cullinane (Lunenburg, Mass.) knotted the game up with a blast from just inside the top of the circle.  The teams would head to the intermission with the score tied up at 1-1.

Junior forward Abigail Tepper (Foxboro, Mass.) broke the deadlock in the 40th minute with a shot to the left side off a cross from Marissa Gagnon (Smithfield, R.I.).  Gagnon added an insurance marker in the 62nd minute.

Cullinane had a chance to cut the deficit to one with 5:37 remaining on a penalty shot, but her bid sailed wide of the left post.

Gagnon and Tepper each finished with a goal and an assist to pace the visitors.  Senior goaltender Murphy McCann (Westerly, R.I.) turned aside six shots to record her fourth win of the season.

Sophomore netminder Kaylyn Allahyarian (Norwell, Mass.) made eight saves for the Bears.

Salve Regina held a 14-11 shot advantage for game while Bridgewater had the edge in penalty corners, 7-4.

The Bears open Little East Conference play on Saturday afternoon when they travel to the University of Southern Maine to take on the Huskies at one.  The Seahawks host Salem State University on Thursday night (7 p.m.).

Notes: Cullinane has scored all three of the Bears' goals on the young season…Gagnon and Tepper each notched their team-leading fifth goals of the season.