Field Hockey Trumps Regis, 1-0 in Extra Time

WESTON, Mass. – Lasell College's Cristina Wilson (Wilmington, Mass.) scored in the ninth minute of overtime to help lead the Lasers to a 1-0 victory over Regis College on Saturday afternoon in non-conference field hockey action in Weston, Mass. Lasell improves to 3-2 on the year, while the Pride fall to 0-5 in 2013.

Regis came out the aggressor, taking the first four shots of the game, but all were turned away by Lasell's goalkeeper, Taylor Sheehan (Brewster, Mass.). Lasell finally got its offense on track minutes later as Nikita Soares (Westport, Mass.) played a ball into the circle to Francesca Ceppetilli (Enfield, Conn.) that left her one-on-one with the Pride's Raegan Heck (Phillipston, Mass.). Heck was up to the task as she stoned Ceppetilli on her shot attempt and kept it a 0-0 game.

Lasell threatened again with just under 22 minutes to go in the half as the Lasers earned back-to-back penalty corners. On the second, Ashlee Pechulis (Westfield, Mass.) received the ball and put a shot on net that was stopped by Heck, but Lasell's Wilson was there for the rebound. Wilson tried to give the Lasers their first lead of the day, but the Pride's Kym Kerr (Uxbridge, Mass.) was there for the defensive save to preserve the tie. Lasell would take three more shots and earn two more penalty corners over the last 20 minutes of the half, but could not find the back of the net as the game entered the break, 0-0. 

Regis came out firing again in the second period as they earned three penalty corners in the opening five minutes of action. Stacy Burns (Waltham, Mass.) received a swing pass from Sam Anderson (Sandwich, Mass.) that left her with an open shot on net, but Sheehan was there for the stop. The Pride kept up their push, earning eight penalty corners in the second half, but could not find the back of the net.

Lasell attempted seven corners of their own in the period, but also struggled to score. Ashley Gleason (Suffield, Conn.) had a chance with just under three minutes to play after Heck came off her line, but Kristen Oliveira (Thorndike, Mass.) stopped the ball with a defensive save to keep the game tied. Lasell had one final opportunity with a penalty corner with only nine seconds left, but the Pride defense cleared the ball and forced the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Regis' Becka Sarson (York, Maine) found Christine O'Toole (Boston, Mass.) with a pass through the defense, but Sheehan kicked the ball away before O'Toole could take a shot. Lasell answered nearly seven minutes later as a swing pass on a corner left Rachel Cronin (Centerville, Va.) with an open shot on Heck, but the sophomore turned away the shot with her left pad and kept the score tied.

The Pride defense attempted to clear the ball once play was restarted, but Cristina Wilson forced a turnover outside the circle and dribbled her way through the Pride defenders. With only one person to beat, Wilson fired the ball opposite post and into the back of the cage to send Lasell home with a 1-0 victory.

In a fairly balanced game, the Lasers outshot the Pride at only an 18-11 clip and held a 13-8 advantage in penalty corners throughout the game. Taylor Sheehan picked up her third win of the season for the Lasers while making six saves. Raegan Heck turned away six shots for the Pride in the setback.

Regis looks for its first win of the season on Tuesday when the Pride hosts Fitchburg State University in a 6:00 p.m. matchup. Lasell looks to make it three-straight wins on Tuesday night as well when they travel to MIT for a 6:00 p.m. contest.