HENNIKER, N.H. – Simmons College junior forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) tallied her third career hat trick and also tied the school career record for goals to lead the Simmons College field hockey team to a 5-1 victory over host New England College this evening at Don Melander Field in Henniker, N.H. The Sharks improve to 9-6 on the season, while the Pilgrims fall to 4-12.
Saltamartini's first goal of the night came with just 25 seconds left in the opening half. The junior screened a defender and fired a shot into the back of the cage to give her 101 career points and become the second player in school history to surpass the 100-point mark. The score gave Simmons a 2-0 margin before the half. The forward tallied her second goal just 2:01 into the second stanza on a feed from senior midfielder Madeline Koufos (Needham, Mass.) to bump the visitors' lead to 3-0. Saltamartini's third goal of the night was her team-high 16th of the year and 48th of her career to tie the school record held by Karen Krzywda (1992-1995) and give the Sharks a 5-1 cushion with 28:02 play.
Simmons dominated the match, outshooting New England College, 24-1, and held a 10-1 advantage on penalty corners.
Junior forward Sammy Rondeau (Franklin, Mass.) put the Sharks on the board following over 25 minutes of scoreless play. She collected a rebound and scored her seventh marker of the year with 7:14 to go in the opening period.
The Pilgrims scored on their only shot of the match when junior forward Kayla Donahue (Natick, Mass.) scored off a corner assisted by sophomore forward Leah Foster (Greenwich, N.Y.) with 4:30 gone in the second half to cut the deficit to 3-1. Koufos countered just 2:10 later when she potted her second goal of the year on a rebound shot to give Simmons a 4-1 margin with 28:20 left in the contest.
Senior goalie Brianna Rastello (Salem, N.H.) allowed a goal in 52:10 of action for the Sharks, before yielding to classmate Hope McDonald (Hingham, Mass.) who was untested in the final 17:50 of action to extend her career scoreless streak to 348:14. First year keeper Amandaline Tibbals (Concord, N.H.) stopped 16 shots for New England College, while senior backs Marisa Roth (Burlington, Mass.) and Diana Puodziukynaite (Nantucket, Mass.) each recorded a defensive save for the home team.
Simmons returns to action when it heads to Providence, R.I. on Saturday, October 22 to take on Johnson & Wales University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference finale at 1:00 p.m., while the Pilgrims host University of Maine-Farmington on the same day at 2:00 p.m.