WORCESTER, Mass. —The Worcester State University field hockey team rallied in the second half to earn a 2-1 non-conference victory over the Anna Maria AMCATS Thursday (Sep. 22) evening under the lights at Coughlin Stadium.
With the win, the Lancers improve to 5-3 overall. The AMCATS suffer the loss and slide to a 4-4 record on the season.
The first half of the game was uneventful, with back and forth play between the Lancers and AMCATS. Anna Maria's Kaitlyn Moran (Leicester, Mass.) scored the first goal of the game with less than five minutes remaining in the half when she received a pass from teammate Nicole Denver (Springfield, Mass.).
While the Lancers outshot Anna Maria eight to six in the first half, the Lancers were unable to put a number on the scoreboard.
The second half of play started off slow for both teams until Worcester State took control with only 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Worcester State's Olivia Antonelli (Westford, Mass.) put the Lancers on the board on an assist from Michaila Parent (Westborough, Mass.) in the 61st minute of play. Parent fired a long pass to Antonelli who buried the ball into the back of the cage, tying the game at 1-1.
With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Parent drove through the AMCAT defense, carrying the ball from the 45 yard line straight to the goal for the 2-1 go-ahead goal. This marks her third game-winning goal of the season.
Worcester State outshot Anna Maria 20-8 during the game, keeping Anna Maria's goalkeeper Bryanna Tobin (Deep River, Conn.) busy throughout the game. Tobin finished the night with 10 saves, but suffered the loss and her record falls to an even 3-3.
Lancers netminder Kathryn Salemme (Acton, Mass.) had three saves on the night, improving her record to 5-3 with the win.
Anna Maria will host Simmons on Saturday, September 24 at 10:00 a.m. Worcester State will resume play in Little East Conference action at Eastern Connecticut on Saturday, September 24 at 12:00 p.m.