Bears top Seahawks with pair of second half goals

NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior Stephanie Lannon (Swampscott, Mass.) contributed both a goal and an assist in the second half to propel the Bridgewater State field hockey team to a 2-0 victory over Salve Regina University at Lawrence Field on Tuesday afternoon. The win was the first of the season for the Bears who improve to 1-2 overall, while the loss drops the Seahawks to 2-3 on the year.

Senior Michelle Massey (Mendon, Mass.) was noticeably active for the Seahawks in the loss, making contributions at both ends of the field. Sophomore Heather Kapatoes (Hopedale, Mass.) led the team in shots, while freshman Murphy McCann (Westerly, R.I.) made a game-high eight saves in goal for Salve Regina.

Lannon paced the Bears attack, leading all players with three points on the day, including the game-winning score. Junior Megan Cullinane (Lunenberg, Mass.) assisted on the game-winning tally, while junior Beth Phillips (Worcester, Mass.) scored the final goal of the game.

Although the first half was scoreless, the Bears held the advantage in both shots (6-3) and corners (6-0) during the opening period.

Bridgewater State finally capitalized on their opportunities early in the second half as Cullinane set up Lannon off a penalty corner for the first goal of the game in the 46th minute.

The Bears then got some breathing room in the 58th minute, as this time it was Lannon setting up Phillips for the score off a penalty corner to give BSU the 2-0 lead.

The Seahawks tried to mount a late come back in the final 12 minutes, but were unable to get on the  score board before the final buzzer sounded to seal the 2-0 victory for Bridgewater State.

The Bears will be back in action on Saturday when they host Southern Maine at 1 p.m. This marked the end of a five-game home stand for the Seahawks who will hit the road for the first time this season to take on Western New England in their conference opener this Saturday starting at 1 p.m.