NASHUA, NH- Freshman forward Lauren Rice (Belfast, ME) recorded the game-winning goal in the 20th minute of North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play against Rivier College on Tuesday night as the Lasers field hockey team earned their first conference win of the season with the 4-1 triumph over the Raiders. The victory improved Lasell to a 2-4 record overall, and evened them out at 1-1 in the NAC. Rivier is also 2-4 this season, but has yet to earn a win in league action, falling to 0-2.
Senior goalkeeper Christine Thornton (Canton, MA) was victorious in the net for the Lasers, turning away seven attempts by the Raiders. Thornton's counterpart in the Raiders net, Mekenzie Flagg, collected 12 saves in the battle against Lasell. In the entire contest, Lasell outshot the Raiders by almost double (28-15).
Katelyn Fabri (Fairfield, CT) got the Lasers on the board at 11:17, converting on a pass from Natasha Wood (White River Junction, VT) on a penalty corner opportunity. Rice would then capitalize off a pass from Fabri for the second goal, the game-deciding tally, just eight minutes later, giving Lasell the advantage that would never wane.
At halftime, Lasell had a 2-0 hold on Rivier, however, the Raiders came out to score early in the second period to cut Lasell's lead in half. Kayla O'Reilly would produce the only marker for the hosts in the contest, scoring high over Thornton's shoulder off of a deflection from a previous shot.
Fabri found a wide open Meaghan Collier (Sidney, ME) to score at point-blank range at 49:01 to keep distance between the two teams. Fabri and Collier are currently both leading the Lasers in total points this season, with six each.
The final tally came off the stick of freshman Talyor Hulitzky (Medway, MA) from a feed by Wood in the final ten minutes.
Lasell has back-to-back NAC games this weekend beginning with a Saturday noon contest at Thomas College. On Sunday, Lasell will be hosted by University of Maine at Farmington, also at noon.