Fitchburg State Blanks Becker, 3-0

Kelley registers four points in Falcons second straight victory

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 5, 2012) – Senior Jamie Kelley (Pepperell, Mass,/North Middlesex) collected a team high four points on one goal and two assists as the Fitchburg State field hockey team defeated Becker College, 3-0 in non-conference action this afternoon at Elliot Field.

Fitchburg State jumped out to a quick lead in the seventh minute of play as Kelley intercepted a pass, raced up the middle of the field and beat Becker goalkeeper Gabrielle Gallo (Northport, N.Y./Northport) on a breakaway attempt to the left side of the cage for the 1-0 advantage.

The Falcons took a 2-0 lead at the 27:33 mark when junior Rebecca Bush (Littleton, Mass/Littleton) gathered a feed from Kelley and slipped the ball into the right side of the net for her second marker of the season. The Green and Gold capped their scoring in the 30th minute as sophomore Bryana McGrath (Lunenburg, Mass./Lunenburg) struck for her first collegiate score to put the Falcons up 3-0 heading into intermission.

In the second half, both teams had several opportunities, combining for 19 shots on target. Sophomore net-minder Lucy Holewa (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) preserved the shutout with 11 second-half saves while Gallo notched eight stops in the second period.

Throughout the match, Fitchburg State out shot Becker 26-20, while holding a narrow 7-6 margin in penalty corners. In the cage, Holewa finished with 16 saves to earn her first collegiate shutout for the Falcons, while Gallo totaled 17 stops in the complete game effort for the Hawks.

Fitchburg State (2-0, 0-0 LEC) will be back in action on Saturday as it hosts WPI at 10 a.m. Becker College (0-2. 0-0 NECC) will host Clark University on Saturday at 12 p.m.