Ham posts a goal and assist in LEC setback

            DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Kylie Ham (Wayland, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist and three times Plymouth State University battled back from a one-goal deficit, but the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth scored in the final five minutes to top the Panthers, 4-3, in a Little East Conference (LEC) field hockey game at Cressy Field on Saturday afternoon.

            UMass Dartmouth had leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but each time a resilient Panthers' offense responded. But junior Hannah Steen's (Fall River, Mass.) goal with just 5:05 remaining ended up being the difference as the Corsairs were able to hold on for the win.

            The setback drops Plymouth State to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Little East, while UMass Dartmouth improves to 4-6 and 2-3 in conference play.

            The Basics:

            Plymouth State 3, UMass Dartmouth 4

            Plymouth State (5-5, 3-3 LEC)

            UMass Dartmouth (4-6, 2-3 LEC)

            How it Happened:

• The host Corsairs grabbed a 1-0 lead 4:59 into the contest when junior Brittany Perry (North Dighton, Mass.) converted a feed from sophomore Lydia Stormwind (Littleton, Mass.) from the left side of the cage.
• Plymouth State evened matters just under four minutes later after sophomore Mariah Luscher (Holderness, N.H.) tapped in a shot off the post on a pass from Ham.
• UMass Dartmouth regained its edge with 1:25 remaining in the opening quarter when junior Mikella DaSilva (Fall River, Mass.) took a crossing pass from Perry from in front and that margin held up through a scoreless second stanza.
• PSU forged the second tie of the day midway through the third quarter after Ham scored on a penalty corner feed from senior Kaihley Rafferty (Salem, Conn.), but the hosts took a 3-2 lead two minutes later when sophomore Kylie Dias (Fall River, Mass.) deflected a pass from classmate Samantha Bittenbender (Belvidere, N.J.).
• The Panthers knotted the score for the final time just 1:45 later on sophomore Natalie Perry's (Conway, N.H.) tally that was set up in front by junior Haley Wakefield (Norway, Maine).
• Plymouth State had had a chance to take the lead in the closing 1:48 of the frame, but Ham's penalty stroke was denied by Corsair junior Katelyn Banalewicz (Fall River, Mass.).
• Steen provided the fourth quarter heroics for the hosts as she scored from ten yards out off a penalty corner to account for the final margin.

            Inside the Numbers:

• Junior Jess Distler (Brookfield, N.H.) made four stops in the setback, while Banalewicz made ten saves.
• The Panthers outshot UMD by a 19-8 margin overall and 13-8 on goal, and PSU held a 5-3 advantage in penalty corners.
• Luscher has scored in three straight games, while Ham has goals in back-to-back contests and five points over her last two games.

            Straight from the Coach's Mouth:

            "We did not play hard enough to win today," said head coach Bonnie Lord. "The goals were pretty and well-played, we just needed to capitalize every time we had the opportunity."

            Up Next:

• PSU remains in league action with a contest at Castleton University on Wednesday (Oct. 9) starting at 7:00 p.m.

**With contributions from UMass Dartmouth Athletic Communications**

– 30 –