BRIGHTON, Mass. – Simmons field hockey (17-3) blanked the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) (11-8) in the first round the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs, 2-0.
The Blue Jays embraced the underdog mentality early, as they came out with energy, firing four shots on goal in the first half. Their most notable shot came late in the first quarter as forward Grace Kociszewski was able to get by the Sharks defense, but her shot was sent away by sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Bright.
The Sharks picked it up in the second period, with a shot from senior forward
Anna Tedeschi bouncing just wide with two minutes remaining in the first half. But Simmons was unable to open the scoring, and with that, the first half of this GNAC quarterfinal game remained scoreless at the half.
The Sharks finally broke the seal in the 3rd quarter, when sophomore midfielder
Lilly Taglieri fired a laser from just inside the circle that found the back of the net. Simmons carried that momentum with them into the fourth, where Tedeschi extended the Sharks lead to two off a nice feed from Taglieri.
The Sharks controlled the time of possession all second half behind stellar defense, and when the final buzzer sounded it was celebration time for the Sharks, as they had shutout USJ and advanced to the GNAC Semifinals.
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS
- Sophomore midfielder Lilly Taglieri got the Sharks on the board with the first goal of the postseason, also recording an assist.
- Senior forward Anna Tedeschi scored a goal along with 3 total shots.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Bright recorded 6 saves in the shutout.
UP NEXT
The Sharks will play the winner of No. 2 New England College and No. 7 Lasell on Wednesday, November 6.
