The NEC girls field hockey team has struggled lately, coming up short against Bryn Athyn, Colby Sawyer, and Anna Maria College. After a 4-2 win in their first conference game of the season, Saturday against Elms College, the team came in Tuesday night looking to do the same against the Dean Bulldogs. The Bulldogs came into last night’s game with a 1-4 overall record, and were 0-1 in conference play. The Pilgrims were 2-7 going into the game, and 1-0 in the conference. Both teams were looking to come out and spark some momentum for the rest of their seasons.
The game started off with five early shots on the Dean goaltender. It wasn’t until the sixth shot, a little over four minutes into the game, that the Pilgrims struck first. The goal came from NEC’s senior forward Brittany Tierney. It was her first goal of the night, and 7th of the season. Around 11 minutes in, freshman forward Sofia Castriotta would make it 2-0, with her 8th goal of the season.
Two minutes later, Tierney would assist Taylor Daileanes, a senior forward, for her 5th goal of the season. That goal gave the Pilgrims a comfortable 3-0 lead, with plenty of time left in the first half.
The Pilgrims went on to score five more goals in the half. Three of which came from Tierney. She went on to have a phenomenal night, finishing with six goals. Madison Booker then got herself involved in the fun, scoring on a pass from Daileanes, putting them up 4-0. Daileanes finished with 2 goals in the first half.
It was a field day, and the Pilgrims were leading 8-0. The Bulldogs hoped to make adjustments to turn this game around, or at least avoid a shutout.
Unfortunately for Dean, they were not able to muster up any momentum, as the 2nd half opened with a very fast goal from Daileanes. The goal padded the lead for the Pilgrims, stretching it to 9-0, and also gave her a hat trick for the night. Besides Daileanes and Tierney, Sofia Castriotta was yet another other Pilgrim to reach a hat trick on the night. Audrey Carr buried two goals of her own, both coming in the second half of the game. The Pilgrims finished with a total of 15 goals, eclipsing a school record for scoring in a game.
The Pilgrims attempted 44 shots, with 30 of those being on goal. The Bulldogs’ goaltender had a long night, facing 27 shots and only saving 12. Christine Mcneil and Gabryelle Hart split time in the net for NEC. Both Pilgrim goaltenders had an easy night, as there were no shots on goal by the Bulldogs.
With the win, the Pilgrims improved to 3-7 and 2-0 in conference. The Bulldogs dipped to 1-5 and 0-2 in conference. The Pilgrims will visit Becker College on Saturday at 1pm, looking to stay hot and undefeated in conference play.
