CHICOPEE, Mass. – Blazers sophomore Anna-Elise Pikul (Belchertown, Mass.) scored a hat trick for Elms, leading their offense to an 8-7 win over the Becker Hawks on Saturday evening in the New England Collegiate Conference opener for both teams
THE BASICS
April 3, 2021
Leary Field
Score: Elms 8 – Becker 7
Records: The Becker College Hawks 1-3 (0-1 NECC) | The Elms College Blazers 1-0 (1-0 NECC)
GAME SUMMARY
Elms used the first half to separate themselves from Becker, outscoring the Hawks 4-1 through the opening 30 minutes. Pikul scored twice for the Blazers, including a man-up goal with 1:00 remaining in the half to give the Blazers a 4-1 lead at halftime.
Blazers junior Arianna Callahan (West Springfield, Mass.) scored to open the second half, giving Elms a 5-1 lead. That goal was followed by three straight for the Hawks as they began to mount a comeback.
Juniors Kylian Kelly (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Julia Ravenelle (Barrington, Mass.), and Clare Conway (Billerica, Mass.) all scored in the 6:19 span to cut the deficit to 5-4.
From that point, the Blazers were able to answer any goal the Hawks produced, always maintaining a one- or two-goal lead.
Pikul finished off her hat trick with 17:45 remaining to put Elms ahead 6-4. Kelly would later answer to cut the deficit to 6-5, but that goal was responded to by Blazers freshman Elise Paier (West Springfield, Mass.) to go back up two goals.
The Blazers led by two with ten minutes remaining and despite a flurry of offense from the Hawks that included five shots on goal, a Conway goal with just seconds remaining would leave Becker one goal short in the 8-7 loss.
FOR THE HAWKS
- Conway finished with two goals and three assists, giving her 104 career points, and making her the 10th player in program history to collect 100 points over a career.
- Kelly finished with a hat trick for the second time in her career and added a game-high five draw controls and six caused turnovers.
- Ravenelle ended the game with two goals and two assists.
- Freshman Chloe Isola (Oviedo, Fla.) made five saves, but the loss drops her to 1-3.
FOR THE BLAZERS
- Pikul added a team-high four draw controls to her hat trick.
- Callahan and sophomore Taylor Boria (Southington, Conn.) both scored twice for Elms.
- Junior goalie Emma Walsh (Dracut, Mass.) finished with 11 saves as the win moves her to 1-0.
UP NEXT
The Hawks return to NECC play on April 9 as they welcome Mitchell to Alumni Field for a 4:00 p.m. game. The Blazers continue their NECC slate by hosting New England College on April 6 at 7:00 p.m.
