NASHUA, N.H. - Senior forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) scored a pair of goals to lead the Simmons College field hockey team to a 5-0 victory over host Rivier University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest this afternoon at Raider Field in Nashua, N.H. The Sharks have won eight of their last nine and improve to 9-3 overall, including a perfect 5-0 in league play, while the Raiders fall to 2-9 and 0-5.
Simmons scored all five of its goals in a 13-plus minute span in the second half. The Sharks dominated play with a 22-1 shot advantage and took 24 of 25 penalty corners in the match.
The teams played a scoreless first half and Rivier held Simmons without a goal until first year midfielder Maggie Fuzak (Buffalo, N.Y.) found senior forward Sammy Rondeau (Franklin, Mass.) for the first goal of the afternoon and her 10th marker of the season with 16:14 left in the second half. The Sharks doubled their lead at 2-0 when junior forward Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) set up first year midfielder Delaney Conway (Derry, N.H.) for her second tally of the year with 12:18 to go in the match.
Simmons maintained a 2-0 margin before scoring a trio of goals in 66 seconds. Maiewski found the back of the cage for her fourth goal with 4:07 remaining in the game, before Saltamartini scored an unassisted goal of her own 48 seconds later to give the Sharks a 4-0 lead. Rondeau found Saltamartini just 18 seconds later, after the whistle, for her second score of the day and 12th of the season coming with 3:01 left on the clock.
Sophomore midfielder Jaclyn Fraser (Wilmington, Mass.) attempted the only shot for the Raiders' offense.
First year Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) went untested for the match to post her second career shutout for Simmons, while junior goalie Emily Foster (West Lebanon, N.H.) turned away 10 of 12 shots in the first 57:42 of action for Rivier, before sophomore keeper Erica Royle (Kingston, Mass.) played the final 12:18 and surrendered three goals.
The Sharks will be in action again on Wednesday, October 11 when they host Mount Holyoke College for a 6:00 p.m. match at Daly Field, while the Raiders head to Leicester, Mass. to play Becker College on the same day at 4:00 p.m.
