PAXTON, Mass. – The Anna Maria College field hockey team defeated the visiting Bridgewater State University Bears 3-1 on Thursday night in a non-conference matchup at Caparso field.

With the win, Anna Maria climbs to 1-6 on the season, while the Bridgewater falls to 1-5.

Senior Sophia Morse (West Bridgewater, Mass.) tallied her second goal in as many games at 3:56 in the first quarter. The Bears converted a penalty corner into the back of the cage off a Hannah Rolfe (Easton, Mass.) assist. Freshman Lexi James (Ipswich, Mass.) sent the ball into action from just outside the five-yard line, setting up Rolfe for an easy redirected pass to Morse in the far-left corner.

The Amcats answered quickly with an Alexandria Keith (Pine Bush, N.Y.) marker less than two minutes later to even the score. Keith was fed a pass right in front of the cage from Carly Drew (Rochester, Mass.), allowing her to net her first collegiate goal.

Anna Maria took the lead later in the first quarter when Ashley Garcia (Cornwall, N.Y.) tallied her first goal of the season. With three long passes beginning at the 50-yard line, Lexis Medina (Enfield, Conn.) crossed the ball to Garcia on the far-left post, forcing the ball into the back of the net.

The final goal of the day came off the stick of Nicole LaCoste (Rochdale, MA) a few minutes into the fourth quarter. Madison-Marie Romano (Lebanon, Maine) sent a ball scorching in from more than thirty yards out, and LaCoste finished the play by chipping the long ball past Bears' goalkeeper Madelyne Guidaboni (Hanson, Mass.).

The freshman Guidaboni played all sixty minutes for the Bears but suffered the loss in the cage, collecting two saves on the evening.

Amcats senior netminder Hannah Tobey (Franklin, Mass.) posted her first win of the season between the pipes, making two saves along the way.

Both teams ended the day with five shots, while Bridgewater posted the advantage on penalty corners 3-2.

Up next for the Bears is a road trip to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday September 24th for a Little East Conference contest at 12:00 PM. The Amcats will travel to St. Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday September 24th for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference game at 12:00 PM.