BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Sammy Rondeau (Franklin, Mass.) scored a pair of goals and junior midfielder Amy Wilson (Falmouth, Mass.) scored a goal and assisted on another to lead the Simmons College field hockey team to a 6-1 victory over visiting Anna Maria College this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match on Winsor Field in Boston, Mass. The Sharks have won five of their last seven games and improve to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in league play, while the AMCATS fall to 11-5 and 3-2.
Simmons outshot Anna Maria by a count of 9-5 in each half.
Rondeau's first tally came at 30:49 of the first half. Junior forward Jenna Gagnon (Waterville, Maine) carried the ball along the endline before crossing to Rondeau in front of the cage for her first score of the day and a 3-0 Sharks' lead. Rondeau's second marker and seventh of the season came less than 10 minutes into the second half. Wilson took a pass at the top of the circle during a penalty corner and used a sweeping backhand cross to find an awaiting Rondeau in the left slot for a one-timer at 43:56 of the period and a 4-1 lead.
Sophomore forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) cracked the scoring column for Simmons at 9:30 of the opening period. She carried the ball to the left side of the circle, where she used a sweeping backhand to find the back of the cage for her team-high 12th goal of the year and a 1-0 lead. Less than seven minutes later, senior back Alexia Malone Oliver (Bristol, R.I.) beat the AMCATS' keeper with a penalty stroke to pad the home team's lead to 2-0.
Junior midfielder Kaitlyn Moran (Leicester, Mass.) fed junior midfielder Lauren Beauregard (Hubbardston, Mass.) for her third marker of the season when she slipped a tight cross in front of the cage, where it was deposited into the right corner of the cage to cut the margin to 3-1 for Anna Maria at 41:08 of the second half.
Wilson scored a goal of her own to give the Sharks some insurance at 48:06 when she scored off a rebound to make it 5-1. Junior forward Jillian Mercer (Dartmouth, Mass.) capped the scoring when she re-directed a blocked shot from Saltamartini into the back of the cage with a tip coming with just 11 minutes to go in the contest.
The AMCATS had another chance to score just over five minutes into the second half when senior midfielder Kylie Dalbec (Portland, Maine) took a pair of shots, but were both denied by the Simmons' keeper.
Junior keeper Brianna Rastello (Salem, N.H.) made a pair of saves to earn the victory for the Sharks, while senior goalie Mary Kate Breen (Londonderry, N.H.) stopped eight shots for Anna Maria.
The Sharks are in action again on Friday, October 23 when they travel to Newton, Mass. to take on GNAC foe Mount Ida College on 6:00 p.m., while Anna Maria hosts Worcester Polytechnic Institute on October 22 at 4:00 p.m.