CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Simmons College field hockey team was defeated by host Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 5-0 this evening at Jack Barry Field in Cambridge, Mass, in non-league action. It was the 2017 season opener for both teams as the Sharks dip to 0-1 and the Engineers improve to 1-0.
MIT proved too much for Simmons as it peppered the Sharks with 24 shots, including 20 in the opening period. Simmons mustered three shots, all coming in the second half. While applying offensive pressure, the Engineers forced a 12-1 advantage on penalty corners.
Senior forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.), junior forward Missie Maiewski (Northamption, Mass.), and first year midfielder Maggie Fuzak (Buffalo, N.Y.) each recorded a shot to lead the Simmons offense.
Junior forward Bailey Tregoning (Frederick, Md.) opened the scoring for the Engineers less than ten minutes into the contest when she redirected a bouncing ball from sophomore midfielder Rayna Higuchi (Solana Beach, Calif.) to make the score 1-0 at 9:27 into the game. Senior forward Emily Penn (Columbia, Md.) notched the first of two markers on the day with a rebound off a saved shot to double the score at 2-0 at the 20:18 mark of the opening half. Higuchi and Tregoning reversed roles, this time with Higuchi redirecting a Tregoning ball into the cage to increase the lead to 3-0, less than a minute before the end of the half.
Penn knocked in her second goal of the game just 44 seconds into the second half and 1:39 of game time since the previous goal to make the score 4-0. First year midfielder Amanda Garofalo (Fairfield, N.J.) scored her first collegiate goal for a 5-0 lead with 16:02 remaining in the contest to cap the scoring on the night.
Sharks' first year goalkeeper Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) turned away eight shots in her collegiate debut, while first year Grace Moore (Boston, Mass.) did not face a shot on goal, earning her first career win in as many games. Simmons received three defensive saves on the night with two coming from first year defender Abigail Anderson (South Yarmouth, Mass.) in her first collegiate game and one from junior midfielder Meghan Fontaine (Westminster, Mass.).
The Sharks will be back in action on Sunday, September 3 when they visit Thomas College in Waterville, Maine for an 11:00 am start, while MIT will be back in action tomorrow when it hits the road to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for a 1:00 pm tilt on Cressy Field in North Dartmouth, Mass.