Roger Williams Sneaks Past Field Hockey 4-3

NEWTON, Mass. (10/8/15) – Junior Stephanie Yaeger (Gansevoort, N.Y.) put away an overtime penalty stroke to lift Roger Williams University over Lasell College, 4-3, in non-conference field hockey action on Thursday afternoon at Grellier Field. The loss drops the Lasers to 5-7 overall, while the Hawks advance to 5-8.

Freshman Cailin Flannery (Medford, N.Y.) scored two goals in the effort, while senior Cristina Wilson (Wilmington, Mass.) added the third point for the home team.

Roger Williams' sophomore Juliana Miccile (Upton, Mass.) and juniors Katherine Mahoney (West Suffield, Conn.) and Meghan Curran (West Milford, N.J.) each contributed with an unassisted regulation goal to add to the visitors' scoring.

The Lasers packed in two first-half goals starting in the 18^th minute, as Flannery collected a pass from junior Courtney Braman (Gardner, Mass.) to open the scoring. Seven minutes later, Wilson used Flannery's rebound to grab a 2-0 bump on the Blue and Yellow.

With 2:09 left to go in the first half, Miccile scored goal number one for RWU off a rebound, where the visitors then used a momentum change to even the scoring at 2-2 just 1:27 later, via a collected rebound from Curran.

After the halftime break, Roger Williams carried its energy to the opening minutes of the second stanza. An RWU penalty corner warranted a quick shot to frame by Curran, however Lasell sophomore net minder Denise Landry (New Milford, Conn.) was there to clear the ball out of trouble. The Hawks would score the contests' next goal, as Mahoney capitalized on a scramble in front of the net for the 3-2 boost. Lasell switched gears for the response as sophomore defender Taylor Falco (Hazlet, N.J.) sent the ball forward, where Flannery took a crack on net that was stopped by junior Abby Treweek (Lakeville, Mass.), who recorded her first defensive save of the year. Flannery would strike again for the equalizer in the 63^rd minute, whizzing by an RWU defender for a fast-break shot to the left of freshman keeper Mya Lunn (Marion, Mass.). 

In the opening minutes of the overtime block, Flannery and senior Ashlee Pechulis (Westfield, Mass.) fired back-to-back shots on frame, but were denied the extra point from Lunn. Roger Williams was awarded a penalty stroke at 77:15, where Yaeger lifted the game-winner in the upper left of Lasell's netting.

Roger Williams held a slim 27-21 advantage in shots, while taking 12 penalty corners compared to Lasell's six.

Landry saved 12 of 16 shots faced on net for the Lasers and moves to 5-7 on the year, while Lunn evens out at 5-5 overall with ten stops on the day.

Both teams will resume conference play on Saturday, October 10. The Lasers will head to crosstown rival Mount Ida College for a 10:00 a.m. GNAC game time, as the Hawks welcome the University of New England for a CCC clash at 1:00 p.m.