Field Hockey Blanks Fitchburg State, 4-0, for First LEC Win

Framingham, Mass. – Senior Kaitlyn Ranieri (Bellingham, Mass.) notched a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the Framingham State University field hockey team to its first Little East Conference (LEC) win of 2013 courtesy of a 4-0 victory over visiting Fitchburg State on Saturday morning at Maple Street Field.

Ranieri helped the hosts stake a 2-0 lead after five minutes of play. At 1:17, Ranieri dribbled around the defense and deposited an unassisted marker. Three minutes and 21 seconds later, she sent a pass to sophomore Cady Kelly (Canton, Mass.) who buried a close range shot for the early 2-0 advantage. Following a penalty corner at 25:01, junior Rhea Urbaniak (Chelmsford, Mass.) sent home a feed from sophomore Alina Willing (Natick, Mass.) for a 3-0 lead heading into the break. Fitchburg State had a pair of chances as rookies Julia Pecoraro (Yarmouth, Mass.) and Madeline Hoffman (Mansfield, Mass.) each tried to sneak the ball past Ram rookie netminder Sarah Palace (Auburn, Mass.) in the 21st minute.

The lone score of the second half came off the stick of Ranieri as her shot glanced off the goalkeeper in the 52nd minute. Pecoraro had the best Fitchburg State opportunity of the game but her one-on-one bid was denied by Palace in the 42nd minute.

Palace (5-4) finished with a trio of saves for the Rams.  Junior Lucy Holewa (Londonderry, N.H.) shouldered the loss (4-6) while sophomore Judith Valentin (Brockton, Mass.) collected five saves in just over 62 minutes of relief.

As a team, Framingham State was awarded a jaw-dropping 22 of the 25 penalty corners and outshot the visitors 15-3.

Both squads continue Little East play this week as Framingham State (7-4, 1-4 LEC) travels to Bridgewater State for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday while Fitchburg State (4-6, 0-5 LEC) entertains Westfield State on Tuesday at 7 p.m.