NEWTON, Mass. - Junior Sarah Smith (Lexington, Mass.) scored three goals Wednesday afternoon to lead Plymouth State University to a 4-0 victory over Lasell College in non-conference field hockey action at Grellier Field.

            It was the second career hat trick for Smith (right), following the one she had against New England College last year.  Sophomore Courtney McLaughlin (Bellingham, Mass.) added her third goal of the season and an assist for the Panthers, who got back to the .500 mark on the season at 2-2 overall.  Lasell dropped to 2-3.

            Smith scored twice in the first half for PSU, with McLaughlin assisting on the first goal midway through the period and sophomore Betsy Renauld (Penacook, N.H.) assisting on the second with less than a minute before the break.  Smith made it 3-0 with about 18 minutes remaining in the second half, set up by junior Kerry D'Ambroise (Lowell, Mass.), and McLaughlin rounded out the scoring with 12 minutes to go, with an assist from senior Ashley Gutowski (Conway, N.H.)

            The Panther defense limited Lasell to just five shots, and freshman Elyse Sedgley (Hopkinton, N.H.) made four saves to record her second straight shutout.

            PSU returns to Little East Conference play Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. game at UMass Dartmouth.  Lasell plays again on Saturday at Castleton State.

(Courtesy of Lasell Sports Information)

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