Blue Field Hockey Tops #17 Trinity, 2-0

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Goals from Nathalie Gruet and Lallie Lukens and a shut out from Brit Mscisz led the Wellesley College field hockey team to a 2-0 win over 17th-ranked Trinity College on Tuesday afternoon in Wellesley.

The win lifts the host Blue, who received votes in the latest national poll, to 5-1 on the season. Trinity suffers its first loss of 2013, moving to 3-1.

Trinity held a 12-8 advantage in shots, with Wellesley taking a 7-6 edge in penalty corners. The Bantams shot and corner opportunities came in bunches, but it was Wellesley who capitalized and then controlled play much of the second half to seal the win.

Wellesley got the offense going with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, after two straight shots where Trinity's Sophie Doering needed a defensive save to keep the Blue off the board. Wellesley finally broke through in the 26th minute, when Gruet deflected a pass from Hannah Flesch, beating the goalie on the right side.

The Blue's 1-0 edge held to the break, as Wellesley thwarted a penalty corner and a good attempt from Sarah Duncan in the final four minutes to maintain the advantage.

Wellesley had two goals waived off late in the second half, both being ruled dangerous attempts off of corner opportunities, keeping just a one-goal advantage. That score remained until the 63rd minute of play, when the Blue's Lukens rocketed a shot from the left side of the circle, after a corner insertion from Courtney Peterson. The goal gave Wellesley a 2-0 lead with just over seven minutes to play.

Trinity made some noise down the stretch, with Wellesley playing down for the final six minutes of the game. The Bantams best chance to score came in the 68th minute, when Duncan's shot on the corner hit the back of the cage, but was waived off for being too high. Wellesley's defense then kept Trinity without a shot from there on out, sealing the Blue victory.

Wellesley's Mscisz had a solid game in goal for the Blue, recording nine saves in 70 minutes of work, earning her second shut out of the season. Trinity's Anne Scalambrino played the first 27 minutes for the Bantams before giving way to Sophie Fitzpatrick, who made one save in 43 minutes of work.

The Blue are back in action on Saturday, opening NEWMAC play with a 12:00pm home game against Wheaton. Trinity also returns to action on Saturday, traveling to Colby for an 11:00am NESCAC battle.