Strong second half lifts Smith past Pilgrims
Smith College would outscore New England College 7-3 in the second half of play lifting the Pioneers to the 11-7 win Thursday afternoon in Henniker. With the win the Pioneers improve to 2-6 on the season, while the loss drops the Pilgrims to 4-6 overall.
The two teams battled evenly through much of the first half of play as Smith would hold the slight 19-15 advantage in shots. NEC would grab their first lead of the game with 6:31 remaining in the first as Brandi Vittum (Reading, Vt.) would net a goal putting the Pilgrims up 4-3. Smith would respond just over a minute later as Blair Rapalyea (Prides Crossing, Mass.) would score an unassisted goal sending the game into halftime knotted at 4-4.
The Smith offense would come out on fire in the second half of play scoring the first five goals of the half and jumping out to a 9-4 lead. The Pilgrims would try to battle back getting within three with 7:21 remaining but back-to-back Pioneer goals would solidify the 11-7 Smith victory.
Leading the way for Smith was Phoebe Hopkins (Philadelphia, Pa.) who scored a team-high three goals on the afternoon. Smith’s Sarah Knowles (N. Kingston, R.I.) netted two goals and Meaghan Fileti (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) had a goal and two assists for the Pioneers.
Leading the way for NEC was Emily Tanguay (Manchester, N.H.) and Megan Lane (Exeter, N.H.) who each scored two goals.
Picking up the win in goal for Smith was Chelsea Henderson (White Plains, N.Y.) who finished with 17 saves. In goal for NEC was Alexandra DiRico (Limerick, Pa.) who stopped 12 shots on the afternoon.
