Cullinane's OT Winner Lifts Field Hockey to 1-0 Win over Thomas

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore midfielder Brittany Cullinane's (Lunenburg, Mass.) penalty shot goal just under two minutes into overtime lifted the Bridgewater State University field hockey team to a season-opening 1-0 victory over visiting Thomas College on Sunday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The game marked the third straight season opening win for BSU over Thomas which includes a 2-1 victory in overtime a year ago.  The Terriers, who kicked off their 2014 campaign with a 3-1 win over Nicholas College on  Saturday, fell to 1-1 on the young season.

The Bears were awarded a penalty shot after back-to-back shots by Cullinane and junior forward Kelsey Kiely (Mansfield, Mass.) nearly won the game. Kiely's shot was denied by the Thomas netminder while Cullinane's attempt slid wide of the net.

The territorial edge in the first half belonged decidedly to Bridgewater State as the Bears held a 14-2 edge in penalty corners as well as a 9-2 shot advantage.

The second half was much more evenly played with the best scoring chance of regulation coming off the stick of Terrier sophomore defender Emily Leighton (Oakland, Maine) in the 47th minute. Leighton's point-blank range shot, however, was turned aside by BSU sophomore goaltender Kaylyn Allahyarian (Norwell, Mass.).

Allahyarian finished with three saves to record her first collegiate shutout and victory. Sophomore Abbie Chartier (Waldo, Maine) recorded six stops in the setback for Thomas.

Bridgewater posted a 25-5 edge in penalty corners for the game as well as an 18-8 advantage in shots.

The Bears are back in action on Tuesday night at seven when they travel to Worcester, Mass. to take on the Engineers of WPI. The Terriers entertain Colby College on Wednesday night also at seven.

Notes: The Bears gave first-year head coach Tia Pydynkowski a win in her BSU debut. Pydynkowski took over the Bears' head coaching duties after serving one season as an interim head coach at Salve Regina in 2013.