Simmons Sinks Lasell 3-1 in Field Hockey

BOSTON, Mass. – The Lasell College field hockey team fell 3-1 to Simmons College Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest on Winsor Field in Boston, Mass. The Sharks extend their win streak to five straight to improve to 9-4 overall and a perfect 4-0 in league play, while the Lasers fall to 4-9 and 1-3.

Courtney Braman (Gardner, Mass.) scored for the Lasers and Ashlee Pechulis (Westfield, Mass.) notched an assist. Taylor Sheehan made five saves in goal for Lasell.

Jenna Gagnon (Waterville, Maine) and Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) each tallied a goal and an assist to lead the way for Simmons. Sophomore keeper Brianna Rastello (Salem, N.H.) earned the victory with a pair of saves for the Sharks

The Lasers cracked the scoring column first when junior midfielder Ashlee Pechulis centered a cross from the left side of the circle to a waiting Courtney Braman, who put a sweeping shot into the back of the cage with 21:57 gone in the opening half. The home team wasted no time pulling even with a score just 44 seconds later. A cross from Gagnon led senior forward Kelly Williamson (Natick, Mass.) to the left slot, where she slipped a shot just inside the post for her seventh goal of the year at 22:41 to knot the score at 1-1.

Gagnon's second marker of the season came on a short cross from Saltamartini to set her up for a quick shot in front of the cage at the 56:01 mark to give the Sharks a 2-1 edge. Saltamartini added an insurance goal exactly seven minutes later for Simmons. Junior forward Amy Cronin (Georgetown, Mass.) found her with the entry pass on a penalty corner that Saltamartini settled and then blasted a shot from just inside the top of the circle for her team-high 10^th goal of the season and a 3-1 margin.

Simmons returns to action on Wednesday, October 15 when it hosts Bay Path College at 7:00 p.m., while the Lasers travel to Framingham, Mass. on October 16 for a 3:30 p.m. match with Framingham State University.