No. 9 Wellesley Field Hockey Bounces Back with 4-1 Victory Over WPI

WELLESLEY, Mass. – No. 9 Wellesley College Field Hockey scored three goals in the game's first 13 minutes en route to a 4-1 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over WPI on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, Wellesley improves to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in NEMWAC games. WPI now stands at 3-8 (0-5 NEWMAC). 

The Blue took advantage of three penalty corner opportunities to build a 3-0 lead before the break. For the game, Wellesley finished with a 15-3 edge in penalty corners, while outshooting the Engineers 20-2.

Senior Anissa Sridhar (London, Ontario) scored the first Wellesley goal in the 11th minute, finishing when she found the ball at the feet of WPI goalkeeper Lauren Puishys (Oxford, Mass.) following a penalty corner. 

Puishys finished with nine saves for the Engineers, making four in the first half and five in the second half.

Wellesley added their second goal in the 13^th minute when junior Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) powered home a drive from the top of the circle on a penalty corner. Classmate Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) injected the ball to Sharkin who unleashed the shot following a stick stop from sophomore Emmy Hamilton (New York, N.Y.).

The Blue's third goal came less than a minute later, when first year Rachel Hwang (Campbell, Calif.) injected the ball to Peterson. Peterson then took a touch before powering a shot into the back of the cage.

The Wellesley lead would grow to 4-0 in the second half, as first year Cecie Negron (Midlothian, Va.) got free in transition before firing a shot into the cage in the 53^rd minute. 

Trailing 4-0, WPI continued to push until the games final seconds, earning a penalty corner opportunity as time expired. A Wellesley foul then supplied the Engineers with another chance at the end of regulation. WPI would make good on the final play of the game, as sophomore Izzy Garver (Owls Head, Me.) swept home a ball from junior Allie Buckley (Worcester, Mass.) to break the Wellesley shutout and make the score a 4-1 final.

Wellesley will return to non-conference play in their next contest on Thursday, October 15, at 4:00 PM when the Blue host No. 16 Tufts. WPI will play a non-conference tilt at Nichols in their next game on Saturday, October 17, at 11:00 AM.

Saturday's contest took place as part of the NEWMAC's Play4TheCure game series. Nine NEWMAC field hockey teams (Wheaton, Springfield, MIT, Babson, Smith, WPI, Clark, Wellesley and Mount Holyoke) competed at four sites, where they supported the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR). The teams have joined together to raise funds that will be donated to the NFCR. Please support this cause by donating at: https://www.crowdrise.com/newmacfieldhockey