Field Hockey Rallies Into NECC Championship
Leicester, Mass.- Becker College overcame a two goal deficit to defeat Wheelock College 3-2 to advance to the New England Collegiate Conference field hockey finals for the third consecutive season.
Wheelock got on the board in the 10th minute when Milbrey Hendrix (Kennett Square, Penn.) rebounded a shot from Despina Savvoulides (Norwalk, Conn.), tipping it out of the air, into the back of the net. The wildcats increased their lead to 2-0 when Chelsey Ballard (Mansfield, Mass.) scored from 20 yards out.
Becker began their rally just 1:18 into the second half when freshman Michelle Griczika (Barre, Mass.) fed Brooke Cote (Fitchburg, Mass.) on a centering pass, cutting the Wheelock lead in half. The score remained 2-1 until the 59th minute when Brooke Cote scored an unassisted goal, tying the game at two all. Just when it looked like the two teams were heading into overtime for the second postseason game in a row, Michelle Griczika scored with 00:38 remaining on the clock on a feed from Victoria Sirchia (Goshen, Conn.), sending the Lady Hawks into the NECC championship.
Wheelock goalkeeper Meredith Race (Marion, Mass.) was outstanding in net for the Wildcats, facing 15 Becker shots in the second half. Race finished the game with 12 saves as the Wildcats season came to an end with a 7-9 record overall. Becker goalkeeper Nakita Gosselin (Springfield, VT.) made two saves as the Hawks improve to 9-11 on the season. Becker will travel to Daniel Webster College on Saturday for the NECC championship beginning at 1pm.
