Explosive Offense Leads Blue Field Hockey to an 8-0 Win over Nichols

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Junior Keller Gardner (Falmouth, Maine) provided a hat trick, scoring three of eight goals for the Blue in a 8-0 rout over Nichols College on Wednesday night at a foggy Butler Stadium.

For the second consecutive game and third time this year, Wellesley shutout its opponent and has now scored nine goals in the past two contests. With the win, the Blue improve to 5-3 overall and remain 3-0 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). Nichols falls to 6-6 overall and stands at 0-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).

Right out of the gate, Wellesley tacked on its first goal after Camille Newman (Manhattan, N.Y.) scored off a rebound at the 1:08 mark. It was the first career goal for the first year midfielder. Later in the first period, Cass Novello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) scored off a dish from Caitlin Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) giving Wellesley a 2-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Rose Weseley (New York, N.Y.) scored the first goal of her career. The goal was set up by Alex Lenart (Princeton Junction, N.J.) and gave the Blue a convincing 3-0 advantage. Just under two minutes later, Novello tacked on her second goal of the match and third goal in the past two games. Maddie Bettencourt (Virginia Beach, Va.) earned the assist and also assisted on the following goal scored by Garder at the 27:18 mark. Gardner added on her second goal towards the end of the first half and Wellesley took a 6-0 lead into halftime.

The Blue didn't score in the third period, but caught the flame once again in the fourth. Senior forward Julia Rappaport (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) scored her first goal since the 2019 season and put the Blue ahead 7-0. With under a minute to play, Keller Gardner completed the hat trick on an assist from Amy Kate Williams (Greenville, S.C.) and the Blue rolled to an 8-0 victory.

Kate Williams and Bettencourt each recorded two assists in the dominant win. All three goalies, Kyra Deehr-Lewis ( Newtown, Pa.), Eleanor Rothera (Lusby, Md.), and Wren Hager (Jamestown, R.I.) each saw action and recorded a save. In total, the Blue outshot the Bison 28-5.

Up next, Wellesley will complete a three-game homestand with a NEWMAC game against Smith College on Saturday, October 9, at 11:00 AM. Nichols will look to get back on track in a home CCC matchup with Salve Regina on Saturday, October 9, at 1:00 PM.