Fitchburg State Rains On Eastern Connecticut, 7-1

Roma collects hat-trick in Falcons fourth LEC victory of the season

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 5, 2010) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team exploded for five goals in the first half and never looked back as the Falcons downed Eastern Connecticut State University, 7-1 in Little East Conference action this evening.

MARI ROMA

Senior Mari Roma (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) continued her hot-shooting this evening, posting her first hat-trick of the season for a team-high six points. Junior Kaylee Bergeron (Acushnet, Mass./New Bedford) was also strong with two scores in the contest, while senior Megan Jacobs (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) added four points with one goal and two helpers.

Roma opened the scoring for Fitchburg State just 1:20 into the contest, using a feed from sophomore Jamie Kelley (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) for her seventh marker of the season. Bergeron followed quickly with her first score of the game at the 7:23 mark, before Jacobs gave the Falcons a 3-0 edge with her team-leading ninth tally of the year.

Fitchburg State continued its offensive pursuit just three minutes (15:12) later as Bergeron sent home her second goal of the contest off a Jacob's dish. Freshman Rebecca Bush (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) notched the Falcons fifth and final goal of the first half, while Eastern Connecticut senior Ashley Del Vecchio (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) capped the scoring with a goal at the 23:28 mark for a 5-1 score at the break.

In the second half, the Falcons again turned to their possession style offense, concentrating on crisp passes and ball control. Roma completed her hat-trick in the second frame, recording two unassisted goals at the 54:06 mark and 67:17 mark, respectively.

The Falcons controlled the ball from the opening tip, boasting a commanding 32-8 advantage in shots and 8-5 margin in penalty corners. Sophomore Abbie Brown (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) earned the victory for the Falcons, totaling three stops in one half of action, while freshman Rachel Mays (Somerset, Mass./Somerset) added two saves in 35 minutes of work. Freshman Marisa Poplawski (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan) notched a game-best, ten saves for the Warriors.

Fitchburg State (6-3, 4-2 LEC) will be in action again on Thursday as it hosts Lasell College at 6p.m. Eastern Connecticut (2-8, 0-6 LEC) will host Wesleyan University on Thursday at 7 p.m.

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Fitchburg State 7, Eastern Connecticut 1

Scoring:
1st Half: FIT: Mari Roma (Jamie Kelley), 1:20; FIT: Kaylee Bergeron (Torey Van Ahnen), 7:23; FIT: Megan Jacobs, 12:18; FIT: Bergeron (Jacobs), 15:12; FIT: Rebecca Bush, 20:42; ECS: Ashley Del Vecchio (Melanie Proud), 23:28;
2nd Half: FIT: Roma, 54:06; FIT: Roma, 67:17;
Goalkeeping: FIT: Abbie Brown (35:00), three saves; Rachel Mays (35:00), two saves; ECS: Danielle Reichardt (24:11), five saves; Marissa Poplawski (45:49), ten saves;
Shots: FIT: 32; ECS: 8