BOSTON, Mass. - Four different players scored for the Simmons College field hockey team in a 4-1 victory over visiting Mount Ida College today in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks improve to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Mustangs fall to 1-2 and 0-1.
Simmons dominated play, outshooting the visitors, 24-5, while owning a 10-3 margin on penalty corners.
The Sharks opened up with scoring opportunities in the first two minutes, immediately putting pressure on the Mount Ida, and later cracked the scoring column early in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Hannah Scott (Claremont, N.H.) sent a centering cross from the top of the circle that first year midfielder Lily D'Anna (Woodstock, VT) converted for her first collegiate score after sneaking the ball through a scrum in front of the cage with 21:42 left in the first half. Simmons doubled its lead with 15:45 to go in the period, when sophomore forward Olivia Trull (Lowell, MA) took a breakout cross from senior forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) and fired a shot from the left side of the goal mouth inside the far post for her second tally of the season.
Mount Ida cut the deficit in half when first year forward Erin Esty (Gorham, Maine) carried the ball into the Sharks' defensive zone and threaded a short cross to classmate Jennie Morey (Claremont, N.H.) for a deflected shot that found its way inside the far left post with 7:25 remaining in the half. Simmons took a 2-1 edge into the intermission, backed by a 15-3 shot advantage.
The Sharks wasted no time in the second stanza to increase their lead, scoring within the first three minutes. Junior midfielder Meghan Fontaine (Westminster, Mass.) took a cross from classmate Ana Giarrusso (Hingham, Mass.) on a penalty corner and blasted a shot from the top of the circle that found the back of the cage for a 3-1 lead with 32:42 to play in the period. Junior forward Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) later collected a loose ball in the right corner of the cage and slipped a shot inside the far left post for her first score of the season and a 4-1 lead for the home team with 9:59 showing on the second half scoreboard.
First year keeper Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) stopped four shots to earn the win for the Sharks, while sophomore Grace Ryan (Livermore Falls, Maine) turned away 17 shots for Mount Ida. Junior back Suzanne Thibault (Douglas, Mass.) added a defensive save for the Mustangs.
Simmons returns to action on Wednesday, September 13 when it meets cross-street rival Wheelock College for an 8:00 p.m. match on Winsor Field, while Mount Ida heads to Framingham, Mass. on the same night to play Framingham State University at 7:00 p.m.
