LEICESTER, Mass. --- The Becker College field hockey team lost 3-1 to visiting Nichols College in a matchup of cross-county rivals on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Field on the Becker campus in Leicester.
THE BASICS
October 4, 2018
Alumni Field, Leicester
Score: Nichols 3, Becker 1
Records: Nichols (5-5) | Becker (3-6)
FIRST HALF
Becker got on the board 3:34 into the game when sophomore-transfer midfielder Alexis Keohane (North Brookfield, Mass. / Notre Dame Academy), continuing her red-hot scoring streak from earlier this week, recovered her own put-back and scored from point-blank range for her third goal of the season as the hosts pulled ahead 1-0. After going scoreless in her first seven games as a Hawk, Keohane has now scored three goals in the last two contests.
Just 6:18 into the first, the Bison nearly tied it when they caught the Hawks' keeper out of position. But Becker junior midfielder Amy Cooper (Monument, Colo. / Lewis Palmer), the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Player of the Year, came up with a huge defensive save to preserve the lead.
Nichols would answer in the 14th minute when junior midfielder Erin Kelley (Dighton, Mass. / Dighton Rehoboth Reg.) recovered a goalie deflection and scored for her third goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1. That score would hold up going into the intermission.
SECOND HALF
Seven minutes into the second, Becker had an excellent chance to regain the lead when they were awarded a penalty stroke with 33:03 to go in the game. Keohane took the shot but was denied by the Nichols junior goalkeeper Brooke Misbach (Guilford, Conn. / Guilford) and the game remained knotted at 1-1.
Nichols went ahead for the first time in the game in the 53rd minute when freshman midfielder MacKenzie Snow (Sanbornton, N.H. / Winnisquam Reg.) sent a cross from the right side to the center for sophomore midfielder Lizz McKinnon (Quincy, Mass. / Hebron Academy), who finished to score her team-leading eighth goal of the season. The Bison took a 2-1 lead.
Finally, with 4:47 remaining in regulation, Nichols scored an insurance goal off Kelley's stick for her fourth goal of the season, that coming after she dribbled around the left side in a circle and shot it in herself. The visitors took a commanding 3-1 advantage and didn't look back.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Nichols outshot Becker 20-10 with a 13-8 advantage in shots on goal.
- Becker freshman goalkeeper Victoria Pilpel (Germantown, Md. / Seneca Valley) finished the day with nine saves for the Hawks, while Misbach tallied seven stops in net on behalf of the Bison.
- Keohane's goal in the first half was the first Becker has scored against Nichols in a decade. The Hawks have not beaten the Bison since 2003.
- Nichols held a heavy 10-5 advantage in penalty corners.
UP NEXT
The Hawks resume their NECC schedule on Saturday when they play host to New England College in a 1:00 p.m. game. The Bison play host to Salve Regina University in their next contest, that coming on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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