WPI Rallies Past Fitchburg State, 2-0

Antonellis nets game-winner for Engineers first victory of the season

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 1, 2010) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team opened the 2010 season this afternoon, falling to WPI, 2-0 in non-conference action at Elliot Field.

Junior Danielle Antonellis (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) led the Engineers to their first victory of the season, netting the game-winning marker midway through the second period. Antonellis connected for her first tally of the season off a WPI corner, lacing a hard shot to the back of the net off a Celena Dopart (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends) set and Megan Read (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip) feed.

WPI continued its offensive pursuit just five minutes later, taking a 2-0 advantage on junior Emily Pearce’s (Avon, Conn./Avon) first goal of the season. Pearce handled a loose ball in the front of the net and slipped it past the right side of sophomore goalkeeper Abbie Brown (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) to double the Engineer lead at 57:28.

Hampered by fouls throughout much of the contest, Fitchburg State dominated the offensive end, holding an 18-7 advantage in shots, including a 5-0 margin in the first half. The Falcons even boasted a 13-7 advantage in the second half alone, but Fitchburg State did not convert as rookie goalkeeper Aly Caceres (Fall River, Mass./Durfee) held the Falcons silent. Caceres finished the contest with ten saves in net, while Brown registered with three stops for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State (0-1, 0-0 LEC) will be in action again on Saturday as it travels to Anna Maria College at 12 p.m. WPI (1-0, 0-0 NEWMAC) will visit Lasell College on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

WPI 2, Fitchburg State 0

Scoring:
1st Half: None
2nd Half: Danielle Antonellis (Celena Dopart, Megan Read), 53:02; WPI: Emily Pearce, 57:28
Goalkeeping: FIT: Rachel Mays (35:00), no saves; Abbie Brown (35:00), three saves; WPI: Aly Caceres (70:00), ten saves.
Shots: FIT: 18; WPI: 7