Newton, MA—The Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers defeated the Lasell College field hockey team, 6-1, today in the Lasers' season and home opener, on Grellier Field.  The Engineers remain undefeated in the early parts of the season with a 2-0 record, while the Lasers drop to 0-1 after their debut.

The Engineers were led by a first-half hat trick tallied by Megan Read (Wrenthem, MA).  The sophomore forward scored all three goals in a 12 minutes stretch to close the first half. Read started with her first mark at 23:09 connecting on a Maggie Wigley (Bridgewater, MA) pass, then scored again two minutes later, producing a 3-0 lead for WPI.   Meghan Linskey (Bridgewater, MA) picked up the assist as she found Read in front of the net. 

Read's final first half goal was scored off a penalty corner in the 27^th minute.  Wigley took the corner and launched a pass to Paige Hanson (East Hartford, CT) who cradled the ball allowing Read to drill her final connecting shot.

Sasha Marokhovsky (Upton, MA) scored first in the contest, opening the game in the sixth minute with a goal, assisted by Celena Dopart (Washington, DC).   The Engineers enjoyed a 4-0 lead at the intermission.

The second half began with Dopart quickly slicing into the Lasers' net two minutes and twenty seconds into the period.  A scoreless 24 minutes followed, until at 61:33, Tracey Sinkewicz (Georgetown, MA) tore away for a breakaway towards Lasell's net.  Lasell's goalkeeper Christine Thornton (Canton, MA) challenged the attack with an incredible diving save, unfortunately for the Lasers, WPI's Kathryn Roosa (Cottekill, NY) picked up the rebounded save and crossed the pass to Emily Pearce (Avon, CT) who scored on the unattended cage.

Lasell's junior forward Hannah Cebry (Burlington, CT) picked up her first goal of the season in the 65^th minute, sailing in the Lasers' sole tally of the day.  Freshman forward Sam Smithers (Yarmouth, MA) earned the assist on the play.

Thornton made eight saves in the Lasers net in a complete game.  Liz Dufresne (Worcester, MA) picked up four saves in the second half of the contest, while Aly Caceres (Fall River, MA) remained untested in net during the opening period.

The Engineers outshot the Lasers 18-9 in the contest, but Lasell held the edge in corners, 9-4. 

Lasell is set to take on MIT next on Tuesday, September 7^th at 4:00 p.m. on Grellier Field, while WPI will host Bridgewater State on the same date, at 7:00 p.m.