Worcester, MA --- New England College senior Katherine Rich (Westborough, MA) tallied one goal and one assist to help lead a second half surge that helped the Pilgrims defeat Worcester State, 4-1, tonight in non-conference field hockey action at Coughlin Field.

New England College (6-9) got off to an early start when Rich took off from the 40-yard line right through the middle of the field and let loose a laser from ten yards away finding the back of the cage for the 1-0 lead.

Worcester State (2-11) answered nine minutes later when senior Ally Valencia (Foxboro, MA) sliced in from the right side of the circle and found sophomore Molly Kilday (Westford, MA) who was able to chip the ball home from point blank range to even the score.

NEC got an early goal in the second half for the 2-1 edge when third-year Rachael Hunt (Harwich, MA) found the back of the cage off a great feed from senior Kate Roberge (Essex Junction, VT).

That scoring chance came after WSU senior Torey Kuchachik (Ashland, MA) was able to stonewall junior Kristen O'Connell (Melrose, MA), marking her team-leading sixth defensive save on the campaign.

The Red and Blue were able to put the game away late with two goals in a 1:05 time span.

The first came when O'Connell hit home an unassisted tally with 9:15 remaining in the contest. Then off a penalty corner, Rich was able to find sophomore Patricia Wright (Essex, MA) at the top of the circle who unleashed a rocket for the 4-1 final.

The Lancers were unable to cut into the deficit by failing to capitalize on two penalty corners in the waning minutes of this contest – including a stroke by senior Nicole Harvey (Attleboro, MA) at the top of the circle.

Senior net minder Rebecca Mullen (Peabody, MA) recorded ten stops in the losing effort while NEC junior Courtney Duquette (Enfield, NH) was not called upon to make a stop in recording the victory.

Overall, the visitors enjoyed leads in shots (22-5) and corners (9-3).

Both teams return to action on Saturday with the Lancers hosting Westfield State in a noon time affair. New England College returns home to face off against Rivier at 5 PM.

Story By John Hanna --- Sports Information Graduate Assistant