BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State College field hockey team received goals from juniors Nicole Henrique (Swansea, MA) and Bethany Bush (Littleton, MA), as the Bears opened the 2009 campaign with a 2-0 shutout victory over WPI this afternoon in Bridgewater.
The Bears (1-0) have now won three straight games against the Engineers and seven of the last nine. WPI (2-1) holds the all-time series lead with a 14-9 mark against BSC dating back to 1987.
Henrique gave Bridgewater a 1-0 lead 8:14 into the first half as she picked up a loose ball off a scramble in front of the goal and rifled a shot into the lower right corner. Bush added an insurance marker just over six minutes into the second half as she scored off her own rebound. For Bush, it was the 20th goal of her collegiate career.
Bridgewater's defense limited the Engineers to just three shots, only one of which was on goal. In fact the Bears' only save was a defensive stop by senior fullback Kelly Downs (Hanover, MA) with under 13 minutes remaining in the contest. All told, BSC held a 15-3 advantage in shots as well as a 16-8 edge in penalty corners.
Junior goaltender Katie Weber (Arlington, MA) posted her third career shutout between the pipes for the Bears. Senior Allie Griffin (Billerica, MA) turned aside seven shots in goal for WPI.
Bridgewater State will open up Little East Conference play on Saturday as the Bears host UMass Dartmouth at noon. WPI will entertain non-conference foe Union College on Saturday at 2 PM.