Field Hockey Falls to Wellesley, 3-0

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University field hockey team was handed its first loss of the season on Saturday.

The Bears were defeated by Wellesley College, 3-0, in a non-conference matchup at Mazzaferro Field.

BSU (3-1) had won its opening three games for the first time since 2012 when it was 5-0.

Wellesley, a member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, improved to 1-3. The Blue had lost two of its first three games to nationally ranked Tufts University and Swarthmore College.

The Bears have lost all nine games against Wellesley dating back to 1993, including an 8-0 defeat a year ago on the road.

Wellesley outshot BSU, 29-3, and had the advantage in shots on goal, 17-2, and penalty corners, 16-2.

BSU trailed, 1-0, at halftime and the Blue scored two goals in the final period to seal their first win.

Sophomore Annika Schermerhorn (Clifton Park, N.Y.) had two goals and an assist for Wellesley.

After a scoreless first period, Schermerhorn made it 1-0 19:44 with senior Ceci Miller (Lewiston, Maine) assisting.

Miller deflected a shot towards Schermerhorn, who was near the left post and tapped it in for the score.

Junior Alex Butulis (Raleigh, N.C.) made it 2-0 with a goal at 45:47, assisted by Schermerhorn.

After taking a centering pass, Schermerhorn sent the ball towards the net and on the stick of Butulis and she converted a backhander into the left side.

Schermerhorn finished the scoring at 53:46 when she wristed a shot into the left side of the net following a centering pass from freshman Nicola Murungi (Montclair, N.J.).

BSU freshman goalkeeper Aubrey Finn (Marshfield, Mass.), making her first collegiate start, had 11 saves.

Sophomore Maddie Miller (Ann Arbor, Mich.) had one save for the Blue.

During the first quarter, both teams had defensive saves with BSU senior Emelia Westwater (Attleboro, Mass.) stopping a shot by Schermerhorn with the keeper out of position.

Wellesley sophomore Gabi Chen (Mountain View, Calif.) cleared a bid by sophomore Kallie Rose (Dartmouth, Mass.) off the line after the shot got past Miller.

The Bears return to Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, playing at Fitchburg State at 7 p.m.

Wellesley travels to Maine on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. game against Bowdoin.