BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University senior midfielder Samantha Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) and senior forward Julianne Kilduff (Bellingham, Mass.) combined for five goals and three assists to lead the Bridgewater State University field hockey team to a 5-2 victory over visiting Anna Maria College on Thursday night at Swenson Field.
The Bears even their 2018 record at 4-4 with their third straight win, while the visiting AMCATS fall to 4-4 on the season.
Hayes recorded her second career hat trick and also added a pair of assists, while Kilduff scored two goals and assisted on another.
Kilduff got the Bears on the board just 3:01 into the game off an assist from Hayes. Hayes threaded the needle with a long thru-ball and Kilduff beat the Anna Maria keeper one-on-one with a shot to the left side of the cage.
Freshman midfielder Abigayle Celata (Baldwinville, Mass.) knotted the score at 1-1 in the 15th minute with her third goal of the season. Off a penalty corner, Celata, who was stationed near the left post, redirected a shot from sophomore defender Chayna Bingham-Hendricks (Mashpee, Mass.) that found its way passed the BSU netminder.
Hayes potted a shorthanded goal with 4:15 remaining in the opening stanza to give the Bears a 2-1 lead. Off a give-and-go with senior midfielder Alexandra Zoebisch (Plymouth, Mass.), Hayes stick-handled in from the 35-yard line, spun away from a defender and ripped a shot inside the left post from 11 yards out.
Junior forward Anne Melanson (Grafton, Mass.) tied the game at 2-2 in the 49th minute with classmate Lauren Lapierre (Worcester, Mass.) picking up the assist. Sophomore midfielder Brittney Cherry (Worcester, Mass.) sent a goal line crossing pass to the front of the net and Lapierre deflected the ball to Melanson who knocked it in for her fourth marker of the year.
Just 2 ½ minutes later, Hayes forced a turnover near the forty, stick-handled in around two defenders and slipped a shot inside the right post to reclaim the lead for the Bears.
Hayes then completed the hat trick as she converted a perfectly executed crossing pass from Kilduff in the 54th minute to extend the BSU advantage to 4-2. Hayes collected the pass at the top of the circle and tucked a shot inside the left post from ten yards out for her team-leading ninth goal of the season and 33rd of her career.
Kilduff scored off a penalty corner in the 68th minute to put the finishing touches on the win. Off a pass from Hayes, Kilduff fired a shot from just inside the circle that deflected in off an Anna Maria defender. The goal marked Kilduff's sixth of the 2018 campaign.
Bridgewater State finished with a decided 33-3 shot advantage as well as an 8-1 edge in penalty corner attempts.
BSU senior goalkeeper Allison Chappell (Raynham, Mass.) made one save to record her third win of the season. Freshmen netminders Nikki Street (San Jose, Calif.) and Cassie Micklesavage (Pottstown, Pa.) combined to make 16 saves for the AMCATS who also received a defensive save from freshman defender Kirsten Avery (Derby, Vt.).
The Bears are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Salem State University for a noontime Little East Conference (LEC) contest with the Vikings. The AMCATS are off until next Thursday night when they travel to Worcester State University to take on the Lancers at seven o'clock.
Notes: With eight points on the evening, Hayes increased her career total to 81 (33G, 15A) as she moved into sixth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list…Hayes is also tied for sixth place among the Bears' all-time goal scoring leaders along with Carissa Vizakis (2009, 2012-13) and Demi Miskiv (2012-13).