BOSTON, Mass. – Junior forward Hannah Scott (Claremont, NH) broke through for her first collegiate goal, but the Simmons College field hockey team fell to visiting Clark University, 3-1, this evening in the season opener for both teams at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 0-1 on the season, while the Cougars improve to 1-0.  

The match was the final contest played by a Simmons College field hockey squad prior to the institution's name change to Simmons University on September 1. It was also the first-ever field hockey contest between the two schools.

Clark overcame a shot deficit of 11-7 and made the most of its opportunities, despite the Sharks holding an 11-4 margin on penalty corners. 

Sophomore forward Chase Collier (Lisbon, Maine) netted a pair of goals to lead the visitors.

The Cougars broke a 1-1 tie with a pair of goals coming in a span of 98 seconds, including Collier's second marker of the night to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. Senior forward Olivia Barksdale (Fort Washington, Md.) fired a shot that Collier tipped past the Sharks' goalie with 16:33 left in the match. Barksdale had previously given Clark the lead for good when junior back Kaitlyn DeBlois (Turner, Maine) found her in the left slot for a shot that snuck inside the left post for a 2-1 Cougars' edge with 18:11 left on the second half clock. 

Collier opened the scoring for Clark with another tip-in, when first year Emma Boland (Redding, Conn.) fired a shot for a bid to score her first collegiate goal. The Collier re-direct from the right slot put the Cougars on the board with a 1-0 margin with 13:27 to go in the opening half. 

Simmons knotted the match at 1-1 when Scott settled the ball in front of the cage and buried a shot into the back of the goal for her first career score just 8:11 into the second stanza. 

Senior keeper Dani Michaud (Providence, R.I.) stopped seven shots to earn the victory for Clark, while sophomore Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) made three saves for the Sharks. 

Simmons will be in action again tomorrow night when it hosts Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a 6:00 p.m. tilt on Daly Field, while the Cougars head to Dudley, Mass. on September 4 to play Nichols College at 7:00 p.m.