Worcester, Mass. – October 25, 2008 — Emily Murray (Boonton, N.J.) tallied a pair of goals in the first four minutes to propel Springfield to a 3-0 shutout over host WPI in NEWMAC field hockey Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Pride (11-5, 7-0 NEWMAC) clinches at least a tie of the NEWMAC regular season championship and is assured of the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament. WPI is now 9-7 on the season and 3-4 in NEWMAC play.
Murray provided the visitors all the offense they would need early in the contest. She started by knocking home a shot from Alexa Carlson (New Milford, Conn.) at the 2:06 mark. Less than two minutes later she notched an unassisted goal at 3:59, giving her five markers on the season.
Springfield would add an insurance goal in the 59th minute when Meghan Cole (Gloucester, Mass.) buried a pass from the stick of Carlson. It was ColeÂ's fourth goal of the season.
Alison McCarthy (North Andover, Mass.) and Kelleanne Salazar (Granby, Conn.) split time in net for Springfield. McCarthy collected a save in the first half while Julie Hoppmann (The Plains, Va.) was credited with a key defensive save in the opening half. WPI goalkeeper Betsy Ray (Simsbury, CT) stopped five shots on the night.
For the game, Springfield enjoyed a 15-3 edge in shots and attempted seven of the gameÂ's nine penalty corners.
Both teams will close out their NEWMAC regular season schedules with contests on Tuesday evening. WPI will host Babson at 7pm while Springfield ventures to Northampton to take on Smith starting at 6:30pm.
