Gillespie Leads Field Hockey Past Harvard, 4-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Massachusetts	1	3	4
Harvard	1	0	1

Massachusetts

Harvard

Sept. 4, 2006

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Massachusetts (1-3) overcame a 1-0 deficit with four unanswered goals in a 13:56 span to defeat Harvard (0-2) 4-1 Monday afternoon at Jordan Field. Sophomore Lauren Gillespie (Casco, Maine) tallied her first career two-goal game, while senior Gina Sanders (Morgan Hill, Calif.) and sophomore Mary Shea (Foxboro, Mass.) added a goal and an assist apiece. Today's win was the 99th for UMass head coach Patty Shea. UMass out-shot Harvard 12-5 and took four of the game's six penalty corners.

"We did some very good things today," said Shea. "I was especially pleased with how we stuck with the game plan after getting down early and did not panic. Once we got the lead we kept fighting for more rather than play to protect the lead. This is a huge boost for us as we head into a break before the next game."

UMass controlled play for most of the first 10 minutes and nearly had a goal. Shea took a pass from sophomore Erin Parker (South Deerfield, Mass.) right in front of the net, but had her shot saved by Harvard goalkeeper Siobhan Connolly made the save. UMass got a corner out of it, but Sanders had her shot go wide right.

A few minutes later, Harvard got a big break and was able to take advantage for the first goal of the game. Aline Brown stole the ball from a UMass defender right in front of the net. She slid the ball to Annie Ardery who was able to slip the ball past UMass junior goalkeeper Becky Letourneau (Greenfield, Mass.) with 23:56 left in the first half.

UMass nearly tied it with about six minutes left as Parker sent in Gillespie down the left side. Gillespie fired a shot that Connolly initially saved. The ball then trickled through her legs, but bounced off the left post and went harmlessly out of bounds.

UMass was able to tie it up with just a minute remaining in the first half. Sanders had the ball at the top of the circle. She passed it on the left side to Gillespie who was able to slide a shot by Connolly and tie the game with just 1:06 left before halftime. The play was set up by junior Nicole Phelan (North Andover, Mass.) who got the ball at midfield and was able to weave through several defenders and get the ball to Sanders at the top of the circle. It was Gillespie's second goal of the season.

UMass carried its momentum into the second half and took its first lead of the season just 4:17 into the start of the second half. Junior Erin O'Brien (Annandale, Va.) took a free hit deep in the Harvard zone. Shea ended up with the ball at the edge of the circle. She spun around with two Harvard defenders on her back and found Sanders down low. Sanders was able to chip the ball past Connolly for her first goal of the season and gave UMass a 2-1 lead. Just five minutes later the Minutewomen made it 3-1 as sophomore Katelyn Orlando (Manchester, Mass.) took a shot from point blank range that was saved by Connolly, but Shea was right there to stuff in the rebound. For Shea, it was her first goal of the year.

UMass kept the pressure on and made it 4-1 just four minutes later. O'Brien sent a long pass in from the top of the circle that Gillespie dove to tip in on the right side of the cage. It was her second goal of the game and gave the Minutewomen a commanding 4-1 lead. Seconds later, Gillespie nearly completed the hat trick, but had Harvard's Jana Berglund come out of nowhere to record the defensive save. On the rebound attempt, freshman Christine Rodgers (Lunenburg, Mass.) hit the post. The latest flurry forced Harvard to call at timeout with just over 20 minutes remaining in regulation.

With just over 10 minutes left in the game, UMass freshman goalkeeper Sarah Williams (Colorado Springs, Colo.) made her collegiate debut. She replaced Letourneau who finished the game with one save and tallied her first win of the season. Williams was tested early, but stood her ground to preserve the UMass win. She tallied one save in 10:27 of her collegiate debut.

Massachusetts will enjoy nine off days before returning to action Sept. 13 at Fairfield. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. There will be a live Internet broadcast of the game beginning at 3:50 p.m. at www.umassathletics.com. Live stats will also be available via Gametracker at www.umassathletics.com.

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

GILLESPIE Lauren

SANDERS Gina

SHEA Mary

RODGERS Christine

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics