Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Smith College Field Hockey team scored three goals in the opening 12 minutes and added three more after halftime in a thorough 6-1 victory over visiting WPI on Saturday in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both teams.
Julia Hamilton (Williamstown, Mass./Deerfield Academy) lit the scoreboard just 89 seconds into the contest on Smith's second of 26 shots on the afternoon., After quickly winning possession in the attacking half after WPI started the match with possession, the Pioneers pushed numbers into the attack and gained entry into the attacking circle, winning the game's first penalty corner.,
Beatrice Chaudoin (Millersville, MD/Severna Park)'s initial shot was saved by WPI goalkeeper Lauren Puishys, but the rebound came back to the top of the circle., Chaudoin was waiting, and her second shot ramped off of a defender's stick towards Hamilton, who slammed home her second goal of the season to give the Pioneers the early advantage.
Smith wasted little time in doubling their advantage with the second goal of the afternoon coming on the team's second penalty corner.,
Casey Rau (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) received the insertion from Hamilton at the top of the circle and fired a low drive towards Puishys that was redirected into the back of the cage by
Elsie Odhiambo (Oyugis, Kenya/Kisumu Girls School) for the junior's first goal of the season.,
Less than four minutes later, the Pioneers celebrated their third goal of the match as Chaudoin smashed an initial shot on a penalty corner into the bottom left of the cage to put Smith in front 3-0.
Smith continued to control possession and the run of play for the opening 35, carrying an 11-2 edge in shots into the intermission.
With the Pioneers still pouring forward in the second half,
Kathleen Lima (Cheshire, CT/Northfield Mount Hermon) tallied the fourth goal of the game in the 49th minute on Smith's sixth shot on target in the second half., On another penalty corner, the first-year found a loose ball in the goal mouth and finished for her second goal of the season.,
WPI responded just over one minute later on a counter-attack as Allie Buckley recorded her team-leading fifth goal of the season with a rising drive from the penalty spot, but the Pioneers were not finished on the scoreboard, as the homestanders added a pair 101 seconds apart in the waning minutes of the match.
After an Engineer turnover in the 67th minute,
Emily Biggs (Florence, MA/Northampton) drove forward on the attacking left and gained entry into the circle., The first-year slipped a feed across the cage onto the stick of classmate Lima, who finished with composure.
In the 69th, the Pioneer press corralled a WPI 16-yard hit and launched an explosive counterattack, as Lima fed a through-ball behind the Engineer defense to a cutting
Mariah Ollive (Milton, Vt./Milton), who tucked the ball behind Puishys for her first goal of the season.
Aiko Dzikowski (State College, PA/State College) recorded a defensive save for Smith in the first half and
Nora Demick (Watertown, Mass/Beaver Country Day) made one save in the second after entering at the break for
Cameo Tietje (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa). Smith outshot WPI 26-4 in the game and put 18 of the 26 on target.
Six goals marks the largest scoring output for the Pioneers since a 10-1 victory over Western New England on October 10, 2013 and the most goals in a NEWMAC contest since a 6-0 victory over Wheaton on September 28, 2013.
Smith returns to action on Tuesday when the Pioneers travel to Williams for a non-conference matchup with the Ephs at 6:30 p.m.
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