No. 6 Tufts Blanks Wellesley Field Hockey, 4-0

WELLESLEY, Mass.-- Senior Mary Kate Patton (Lake Bluff, Ill.) scored a pair of goals to lead No. 6 Tufts University to a 4-0 victory over Wellesley College field hockey on Thursday at the Wellesley Fields Complex.

With the victory, the Jumbos improve to 9-4 overall and 5-2 on the road. Wellesley is now 5-10 on the season.

Junior Gigi Tutoni (Newtown, Pa.) scored the first goal of the game at 3:36, as the visitors converted on the first of their 11 penalty corner chances. Tutoni swatted the ball out of midair on the play, redirecting a tip from senior Mary Travers (Princeton, N.J.).

Patton made the score 2-0 with 3:32 left before halftime, using a nice move in front to beat Wellesley goalkeeper Maggie Connelly (Duxbury, Mass.). Patton and the Jumbos threatened to make the score 3-0 at the end of the first, but Connelly got the upper-hand on Patton on a penalty stroke, capping a busy opening session with her ninth save of the half to keep the score 2-0.

Connelly finished the contest with 16 saves, her third-straight double digit output, as the Jumbos held a 26-3 advantage in shots and 20-1 edge in shots on goal. Tufts junior Emily Polinski (East Brunswick, N.J.) made one save in just over 63 minutes before giving way to sophomore Samantha Ward (Cincinnati, Ohio) for the remainder of the contest.

Patton scored her second of the game and third of the season in the opening minutes of the second half, this time finishing on a redirection from Tutoni after senior Mary Travers (Princeton, N.J.) crossed the ball into the circle. Tufts added a fourth goal at 51:15, when a drive from senior Erin Sanders (Katonah, N.Y.) was tipped up and in by sophomore Rachel Hamilton (Newton, Mass.).

Wellesley will host Trinity (Conn.) on Senior Day this Saturday, October 21, at 12:00 PM. Tufts will travel to Williams for a 1:00 PM start on Saturday.