Carolyn Griggs and Kayla Blank both scored hat tricks carrying Castleton State to a 6-1 victory over Simmons Saturday afternoon. The Sharks fall to 3-10 overall, NAC 0-3 while Castleton State improves to 9-5, NAC 3-1.
Griggs opened the scoring for the Spartans, taking a shot from Sarah Flore inside the circle and scoring. Castleton State struck again eleven minutes later with an unassisted goal scored by Kayla Blank. In the 14th minute Griggs would go on to score her second goal of the game, with an assist from Trishia Fellows. With four minutes left in the first half, Flore crossed the ball to Blank who's shot slipped past Simmons' junior goalkeeper Jen Szkolt (Bondsville, Mass.), making the score 4-0 at the half.
Nine minutes into the second half Griggs took a pass from Flore, scoring the Spartans fifth goal of the game and her third of the day, Flore's third assist on the afternoon. Eight minutes later the Sharks took advantage of a corner as Maggie Weeks (Tuftonboro, N.H.) passed to Kelly Garrity (Reading, Mass.) whose stick stop set up Emily Sypher (Orono, Maine), scoring Simmons' first goal of the game. With eight minutes left in regulation, Castleton's Kayla Blank scored the game's final goal, giving the Spartans a 6-1 lead and win over Simmons.
"Castleton was fast, aggressive, and disciplined," said Head Coach Kate Leonard. "We gave them too many chances today, but I'm proud of how we stepped up our game to have a great second half. When we picked up our intensity, we played much better. Emily Sypher did a great job upping the ante in the second half and Lee Sutherland (Tuftonboro, N.H.) created several scoring opportunities."
"On defense, Jen Szkolt was outstanding for us in net. She was helped by strong effort and good decisions from Nicole Morrison (Stoughton, Mass.), Maggie Weeks, and Kelly Garrity," said Leonard. "The team worked hard and together to finish on a strong note."
Jen Szkolt made 13 saves for Simmons while senior Trisha Clark was credited with one stop for Castleton.
The Sharks return to action on Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m. when they host Elms College in their final home game of the regular season at the Winsor School Field.
Match Notes:
Freshman Kelly Garrity was credited with her first collegiate assist.