WORCESTER, Mass. – Simmons field hockey opened the 2022 campaign with a commanding 7-3 victory over non-conference Clark University on the road, Thursday evening. Graduate student Riley Lambert registered hat-trick with three goals, while sophomore Sydney Gonyea followed up with two goals and three assists.

Lambert put the Sharks on the board five minutes into the contest to jump on top, 1-0, but the Cougars answered. Five minutes later Clark's Greer McCarty buried the equalizer to send the game into the second quarter tied a one.

Five minutes into the second period, McCarty gave the Cougars their first and only lead of the game with her second goal of the game. But the Sharks responded 35 second seconds later. Gonyea connected with Lambert to tie up the game at 2-2, then re-gained the lead for Simmons scoring her first goal of the season, three minutes later. The Sharks went into half time with a 3-2 advantage.

Gonyea and Lambert connected again to give the Sharks some breathing room at the end of the third period, extending their lead to 4-2. It was needed as the Cougars scored early in the fourth quarter to bring them to within one, 4-3. But senior Maddie Beckwith connected with Gonyea for her second goal of the game to put Simmons back on top by two and never looked back.

Senior goalkeeper Emma Sheehan earned her first victory of the season, registering eight saves in the win.

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Graduate student Riley Lambert registered a hat-trick tallying three goals.
• Sophomore Sydney Gonyea dished out a career single-game high three assists, while tying her career single-game best with seven points.
• First-year Zoe Schmaling scored her first two goals of her collegiate career in final minutes of the contest.
• Senior goalkeeper Emma Sheehan registered eight saves to earn the victory.

UP NEXT
Simmons returns to field on Saturday, Sept. 3 when they host UMass Dartmouth at 11 a.m. at Daly Field.