BRIGHTON, Mass. – Fourth seed Simmons field hockey (13-4) was upset by the fifth seed New England College, 2-1, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) post-season tournament on Saturday morning.

The first half of the game mirrored the first meeting of these two teams. Both teams remained scoreless throughout the first 30 minutes, but momentum favored the Sharks early. Earning a pair of penalty corners in the first three minutes, the Sharks looked poised to score but was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Junior Ali Michalik's shot escaped wide of the net. 

After taking a scoreless game into the halftime intermission, the Pilgrims finally broke up the stalemate three nearly four minutes into the third quarter. New England's Drea Chin slid a pass to Mikayla Vincent in front of the net to take a 1-0 advantage. Three minutes later, the Pilgrims added an insurance goal when Tatum Golis knocked a penalty stroke goal just out of reach of Sharks goalkeeper Haley Bright.

However, the Sharks were not backing down and continued to fight. Seconds after New England took a two-goal lead, Simmons answered. Methodically making their way up the field, sophomore Ainslee Shrout entered the circle, slid a beautiful pass to junior Sydney Gonyea, who quickly found senior Aria Badra along the near-side, endline. Badra fired the ball towards the cage as junior Anna Tedeschi knocked it in. 

Bright came up big for the Sharks in the cage, knocking away four shots to keep Simmons in the game. But the Sharks were unable to come through on the offensive end as New England advances to the GNAC semifinals on Wednesday, November 1. 

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior Aria Badra registered her assist of the season connecting with junior Anna Tedeschi for her 21st goal of the season. 
• First-year goalkeeper Haley Bright recorded four saves in 60 minutes.