FITCHBURG, Mass. – Junior Rebecca Bush (Littleton, Mass.) scored the game winning marker with six minutes remaining in regulation to lift Fitchburg State past the Simmons Sharks, 3-2 in non-conference field hockey action at Elliot Field this afternoon.

Fitchburg State gained an early lead just 5:26 into the opening frame as sophomore Courtney Brooks (Fitchburg, Mass.) knocked home her first collegiate marker off a penalty corner for the 1-0 advantage. Sophomore Kaitlyn Silva (West Townsend, Mass.) inbounded the ball to senior Jamie Kelley (Pepperell, Mass.), who then slipped the ball over to Brooks

The Falcons doubled their lead (2-0) in the15th minute when Kelley took a feed from freshman Erin Morrissey (Hubbardston, Mass.) and slide the ball into the left side of the cage. Simmons broke its scoring silence at the 23:47 mark, as junior Seneca Martensson (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) connected for an unassisted tally.

In the second half, the Sharks knotted the score (2-2) in the 59th minute when junior Monica Doucette (Rockport, Maine) slide the ball over to sophomore Kelly Williamson (Natick, Mass.), who deposited the ball into the back of the net. That set the stages for Bush, who collected a rebound and blasted the ball into the upper right corner of the cage for the 3-2 final.

The game was closely contested as Fitchburg State narrowly out-shot Simmons 15-14, while Simmons held a 13-6 margin in penalty corners, In the cage, freshman Kelly Luttazi (Franklin, Mass.) registered six saves to earn the win for the Falcons, while junior Renna Smith (Belfast, Maine) made eight stops in the complete game effort for the Sharks.

Fitchburg State (1-0, 0-0 LEC) will be back in action again on Wednesday as it hosts Becker College at 4 p.m. Simmons (0-1, 0-0 NAC) will host MIT on Wednesday at 7 p.m.