Ayotte netted her second goal of the season in NEC's 2-0 win over Manhattanville on Wednesday.
Field Hockey wins home opener
New England College field hockey picked up a win in their home opener beating the Manhattanville College Valiants 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon in Henniker. With the win the Pilgrims remain undefeated improving to 2-0 on the season. The loss evens the Valiants record to 1-1 overall.
NEC wouldn’t waste much time getting on the scoreboard as sophomore forward Marisa Ayotte (Feeding Hills, Mass.) would score her second goal of the season assisted by Samantha Escobar (Rumney, N.H.) just 3:31 into the opening half. The Manhattanville defense would tighten up as the Pilgrims would outshoot the Valiants 8-5 in the opening half but come up empty. Manhattanville would have scoring opportunities of their own in the opening half but Pilgrim keeper Mary Roux (Aurburn, Mass.) would turn away three shots on goal, as NEC would head into halftime holding on to the 1-0 advantage.
The two teams would battle closely through the opening nine minutes of the second half before NEC’s Kate Carnaroli (Bellingham, Mass.) would net her first goal of the season a 9:19 into the half putting the Pilgrims up 2-0. The Pilgrims would hold the edge in shots on the second half out shooting the Valiants 14-9 but both teams would record seven shots on goal. The Valiants would have a chance to score late in the period as they would record five corners in the final few minutes but the NEC defense would keep Manhattanville off the board and capture the 2-0 win.
Picking up the shutout win in goal for NEC was Mary Roux who finished with 10 saves. In goal for Manhattanville was Lauren Gagnon (Staffordville, Conn.) was who finished the afternoon with 12 saves.
New England College will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 6 when they travel to take on non-conference opponent Clark University at 1:00 p.m. Manhattanville College will return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 6 when they travel to take on Eastern Connecticut State at 4:00 p.m.
