BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Senior forward Kaitlin Lamothe (Wrentham, MA) netted her first hat trick of the season to lead the Bridgewater State College women's soccer team to a 5-3 win over UMass Dartmouth this afternoon in Bridgewater.
BSC improves to 5-1-2 on the season while UMass falls to 1-4-4. The Bears have now won five straight games and are undefeated in their last seven games (5-0-2).
Lamothe scored goals number eight, nine and ten on the season. She now has 47 points (21 goals, 5 assists) in just two seasons at Bridgewater which ranks her seventh on the Bears' all-time scoring list.
BSC opened the scoring in the seventh minute as Lamothe drilled a shot past the UMass keeper off a quick pass from junior Christine Soucy (Rockland, MA). UMass answered on an unassisted tally goal by sophomore forward Allison Carver (Andover, MA) in the 13th minute.
Lamothe responded with the next two goals however to give BSC a 3-1 advantage. She scored in the 28th minute as an attempted clear by a UMass defender near the goal line deflected off her and back into the goal. Lamothe then finished off a nice pass from freshman midfielder Kylie Smith (Norwell, MA) in the 41st minute for the hat trick.
The Bears looked as though they would take a 3-1 lead into the intermission. UMass had other ideas however as a 30-yard shot by sophomore midfielder Kristen Soares (Somerset, MA) in the 44th minute snuck under the crossbar and over the outstretched hand of the BSC netminder.
Bridgewater put the game out of reach early in the second half as the Bears received goals from junior midfielder Jacklyn Wisocky (Brockton, MA) and junior forward Ashley Hersey (Newburyport, MA) to take a 5-2 lead. Wisocky floated a shot from the right side into the back corner of the goal off a feed from senior forward Megan Williamson (Lowell, MA). Hersey's goal, her fourth of the season, came off an assist by sophomore midfielder Kylie Beaton (Epsom, NH) in the 63rd minute.
UMass freshman midfielder Caitlin McGarrigal (Amherst, MA) rounded out the scoring with her first career goal in the 74th minute.
The Bears outshot the Corsairs by a margin of 24-7 with 18 of their 24 shots on frame. UMass sophomore goaltender Tanya Braga (Hudson, MA) made 13 saves while also stopping several breakaway opportunities. BSC senior netminder Ashley Spingler (West Springfield, MA) made two saves to earn her fifth straight win of the season.
BSC will travel to Worcester State College on Saturday (6:00) for a key MASCAC match with the Lancers. UMass travels to Salve Regina University on Thursday for a non-conference match with the Seahawks.