No. 11 Field Hockey Grabs 3-1 NEWMAC Win at Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – No. 11 Wellesley College field hockey scored three unanswered goals to defeat Springfield College, 3-1, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Stagg Field. 

The Blue improve to 5-1 in conference play and 11-2 overall following their third consecutive victory, while the Pride slide to 5-8 overall and 1-4 in the NEWMAC. 

Springfield outshot the Blue 3-0 in the opening 10 minutes of play, capping the early flurry with a goal from sophomore Dani Sweet (Charlton, Mass.) at 9:34. Senior Kristina Krull (Leicester, Mass.) added the assist on the play, as Sweet recorded her third marker of the year. 

The Blue turned the tide after the slow start, answering back at 18:59 when seniorHannah Flesch (Rockville, Md.) used an assist from first year Rachel Hwang (Campbell, Calif.) to beat Springfield goalkeeper Timarie Villa (Mashpee, Mass.).

Villa made four saves in the contest for Springfield. Wellesley goalkeeper Lucy Hurlock (Needham, Mass) turned away three shots to record her twelfth win of the season.

The Blue took the lead for good just before halftime when junior Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) found the back of the cage for the fifth time this season, thanks to an assist from first year Cecie Negron (Midlothian, Va.).

Huang would add her second assist of the day in the second half, as senior Anissa Sridhar (London, Ontario) scored her team-leading tenth goal of the season at 58:49 to close out the scoring in the contest and give Wellesley the 3-1 win. 

Wellesley finished the contest with a 17-7 advantage in shots and a commanding 14-4 edge in penalty corners.

Next up, the Blue return home on Tuesday, October 20, for a key NEWMAC matchup with MIT at 4:00 PM. Springfield will be in action later in the day on Tuesday, as they are set to travel to Clark for a 7:00 PM start.