Wellesley Field Hockey Blanks Me.-Farmington in Home Opener, 5-0

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College field hockey defeated the University of Maine-Farmington, 5-0, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at the Wellesley Fields Complex. Wellesley improves to 2-1 on the season, while Me.-Farmington drops to 1-3.

Senior Rachel Hwang (Campbell, Calif.) led the Blue with two goals, scoring one in each half, while junior Hannah Maisano (Gambrills, Md.) tallied a goal in the second and had an assist on Hwang's first marker. Sophomore Sophia Albanese (Hamilton, N.J.) and first year Julia Rappaport (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) each recorded their first collegiate goals to round out scoring for the Blue.

Wellesley outshot Me.-Farmington, 9-2, in the opening half, finally breaking through at 19:00 minutes when Hwang redirected Maisano's attempt past UMF goalkeeper Grace DiMarco (Uxbridge, Mass.). The Blue earned seven penalty corners in the first half but came-up empty, ultimately taking the 1-0 lead into the break. DiMarco recorded 11 saves in goal for Farmington and is now 1-3 on the season.

With Wellesley leading 1-0 early in the second, senior goalkeeper Maggie Connelly (Duxbury, Mass.) shutdown Farmington's best chance to tie the contest in the 41st minute, denying an aerial attempt from senior Emma Martineau (Parsonsfield, Maine) on a penalty corner when she deflected the ball off, up, and over the crossbar. Connelly (2-1) stopped three shots in 60:06 minutes of play, before sophomore Janelle Sullivan (Philadelphia, Pa.) came on to play the final 9:54 for the Blue.

Hwang scored her second goal of the game at 50:02 as she tipped in a shot from sophomore Carson Dennis (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.). Albanese followed at 51:36 when she shot through traffic to make the score 3-0. Maisano and Rappaport then put the game out of reach, with Maisano tallying the next goal at 57:30 and Rappaport scoring at 67:43 to give Wellesley the 5-0 victory.

Wellesley held the advantage in penalty corners, 18-1, and shots, 31-5. The Blue had a 22-3 shot advantage in the second half.

Wellesley will host Bridgewater St. in their next contest on Thursday at 4:30 PM. Me.-Farmington will travel to Colby for their next outing on Tuesday, September 18 at 7:00 PM.