Box Score WORCESTER, Mass.--The Smith College field hockey team won at Clark University for the first time since 1999 with a 5-2 win over the Cougars on the final day of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season. The win clinched Smith a berth in the NEWMAC tournament for the first time since 2008.
Allie Stein (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) had two goals and an assist,
Kat Estes (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) scored on a penalty stroke, and
Alexa DeJesus (Somerset, Mass./Somerset) and
Marissa Vara (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) also netted goals as Smith came back from being down 2-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Smith is now 11-7, and 3-5 in the NEWMAC. It's the most wins for the Pioneers since winning 11 in 1994, and the most league wins 2003.
Clark (8-10) raced out to an early 2-0 lead on the strength of goals from freshmen Lauren Mackey and Isabelle Zoeckler in the contest's first eight minutes.
Stein, who leads the league in scoring, rattled the back of the cage with her 28th goal of the season with help from
Elsie Odhiambo (Oyugis, Kenya/Kisumu Girls School) at
14:13 to cut the Cougar advantage in half.
Kat Estes (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) converted a penalty stroke with less than ten minutes to go in the half to even the score at 2-2 going into halftime. Things continued to roll in the Pioneers' favor, as Stein and
Alexa DeJesus (Somerset, Mass./Somerset) scored a pair of goals less than five minutes apart in the early part of the second half to put Smith in control at 4-2.
Stein then setup
Marissa Vara (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) for her sixth goal of the season at 58:41, marking the eighth time this season she has had at least five points in a game.
The Pioneers held a 16-12 edge in total shots and a 14-4 advantage in penalty corners. Christine Tinsman recorded her third career contest with double figure saves, finishing with ten.
Maddi Wyda (Baltimore, Md./The Park School), meanwhile, was excellent as well, turning back nine shots of her own.
Abbey Petronzio (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) played the final 4:11 in cage for Smith.
The Pioneers will be the No. 6 seed in the upcoming NEWMAC tournament, and will play at MIT on Tuesday, November 5. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, MIT posted a 3-1 win on October 19.
