WORCESTER -- Abbey Powers (Halifax, MA) collected a pair of goals and doled out an assist as the WPI field hockey secured a home game in next month's NEWMAC Tournament with a 5-1 triumph over visiting Salve Regina on Senior Day Saturday morning on H. Carr Field in Alumni Stadium.
WPI has now won three straight for the second time this season and ups its record to 9-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play while Salve Regina slips to 11-5 on the season and 4-4 in NEWMAC action.
Prior to the game, the Engineers honored their four seniors including Alexandra Wolf (Clinton, MA), Eliza Dutson (Woodstock, CT), Maggie McCarthy (Worcester, MA) and Ella Moreau (Huntington, MA).
The opening quarter was devoid of quality scoring opportunities, but WPI cashed in on one of the two shots of the frame when Arie Lang (West Hartford, CT) dribbled up the left side and after the pass was deflected toward the middle, Powers swooped in and sent a pass back to Lang on the left side who buried her fourth goal of the season at 13:39.
The second quarter was a different story as the two teams combined for three markers in the 15-minute session. The Seahawks knotted the game at 1-1 4:44 into the stanza when Julia Decker (Newton, NJ) received a pass and tapped it to Shannon Kennedy (Royersford, PA), who blasted her 11th goal of 2024 into the net. The Crimson and Gray quickly regained the advantage less then two minutes later at 21:20 after Powers dribbled down and unleashed a shot that deflected off a Salve player and into the net to put the hosts up for good.
WPI added a tally with just 33 seconds before intermission on a penalty corner that saw Emily Sollecito (Bedford, MA) began with an insertion that turned into a nifty give-and-go with Dutson and ended with Sollecito being credited with the third goal of the year.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Engineers added a pair of insurance goals in the final 15 minutes. Dutson registered their third tally of the season off a feed from Lang just 2:03 into the fourth quarter and Powers put an exclamation point on her strong day by gathering a loose ball in front of the net and chipping it over the Salve Regina goalkeeper for her sixth marker of 2024.
Moreau earned the win in net for the hosts, turning away five shots on frame while Bryn Protheroe (Glastonbury, CT) totaled 14 stops for the Seahawks. For the day, the Engineers held a 26-14 edge in shots and were awarded eight of the contest's 11 corners.
Both teams begin the final week of the regular season with non-conference tilts. WPI heads to Keene State Wednesday for a 6:30pm matchup with the Owls while Salve Regina plays host to Western New England on Tuesday at 6:30pm.
