Worcester, MA --- Five different players registered a first half point as host WPI amassed three goals in the opening 28 minutes to defeat Fitchburg State 3-0 in a non-conference field hockey contest on Tuesday evening. The Engineers push their record to 2-1 on the young season while FSU sees its mark level at 1-1.
Mercedes Kuzina (Concord, NH) got WPI on the board early when she collected a pass from Nicole Holmes (Plymouth, MA) and netted her first goal of the season just 2:16 into the game. Kuzina also tallied the game-winner in Crimson and Gray's road win in Fitchburg last October.
WPI pushed the advantage to 2-0 when Jena Mazzucco (Danbury, CT) sent a rocket into the back of the net for her first career marker at 16:39. The Engineers closed out the scoring barrage just over 11 minutes later when Stephanie Symecko's (Bondville, VT) penalty corner insert was ripped towards the goal by Hope Shevchuk (Burlington, CT) and tipped in by Katie Correia (Merrimack, NH) at 27:57.
The hosts enjoyed a 10-1 edge in shots and 7-0 advantage in penalty corner during the opening half of play, only to see Fitchburg State bounce back to attempt five of the nine second half shots as each team was awarded five penalty corner in the second stanza.
Liz Dufresne (Worcester, MA) and Lauren Puishys (Oxford, MA) shared a clean sheet in between the pipes for WPI. Dufresne totaled one stop en route to earning the victory while Puishys tallied four saves. Abby Cervelloni (Charlottesville, VA) and SarahRose Gabor (Cazenovia, NY) helped record the shutout with strong defense in the middle of the field.
Fitchburg State also saw goalkeepers split the halves with Lucy Holewa (Londonderry, NH) making three saves in the opening 35 minutes and Judith Valentin (Brockton, MA) repelling two shots after half time. Rebecca Bush (Littleton, MA) attempted a team-best two shots for the Falcons.
Both teams return to the field on Thursday for 7pm non-conference match-ups. WPI heads to Bridgewater State for the resumption of a suspended game from September that sees it trailing 2-0 with seven minutes left before halftime. Fitchburg State ventures to Rivier for second contest of a four-game road trip.
