University of Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford Field Hockey team celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Al-Marzook Field, honoring seniors Lauren Santos (Waterford, Conn.) and Madi Sicotte (Southington, Conn.) before hosting the University of New England in a conference match up. The Hawks battled the Nor'easters through 60 minutes, but New England's late offensive surge would propel the visitors to a 5-0 victory.

Rapid Recap

• The Nor'easters would be on the attack early as they controlled possession for the majority of the first quarter. Junior Nicole Ciampa (Jefferson, N.J.) would work hard in the cage as she tallied five saves to keep the Hawks within striking distance. However, the University of New England would get on the board quickly into the first quarter, just at the second minute mark as Kate Kelso would find the back of the cage off a pass from Riley Zielinski to give the Nor'easters a 1-0 lead. Hartford would seek an early chance as sophomore Ava Lipson (Colchester, Vt.) would carry the ball up the field on her own and take a powerful shot but it went just too far wide. New England would then add to their lead at 12:47 as Corinne Ramunno would tap the ball in off of a well executed pass from Isabel Culver to finish off the quarter with a comfortable 2-0 advantage. 
• The Nor'easters would continue to apply pressure throughout the second quarter, controlling possession and creating several offensive opportunities. New England would register eight shots and earn two penalty corners during the quarter, while Ciampa would continue to keep Hartford within reach with another five saves in the cage. The Hawks would struggle to generate offensive opportunities, being held without a shot as the Nor'easters maintained their 2-0 advantage heading into halftime.
• Hartford would look to find an offensive spark coming out of the halftime break, as the Hawks would generate three shots during the third quarter while holding the Nor'easters to just three shots of their own. Within the 40th minute, Hartford would have three back-to-back chances as Lipson as her shot was saved by goalkeeper Riley Curtin. After the save, sophomore Kyra Benard (Agawam, Mass.) would get to the rebound and take two different shots but was denied by Curtin. On the other end of the field, Ciampa would continue to stand tall in the cage, making two additional saves to keep Hartford in the game. The Hawks would also earn their first penalty corner of the afternoon, but New England's defense would prevent Hartford from finding the back of the cage as the Nor'easters carried a 2-0 advantage into the final quarter.
• The Nor'easters would put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, scoring three times to secure the victory. Ella Reeves would find the back of the cage at 55:46 off an assist from Corinne Ramunno to extend New England's lead to 3-0. The Nor'easters would then be awarded a penalty stroke, but junior Nicole Ciampa (Jefferson, N.J.) would come up with another big save, her second game in a row with a penalty stroke save as she denied Emma Shuman to keep Hartford within reach. Just under two minutes later, Kate Kelso would strike again at 57:31 for her second goal of the afternoon before Alexa Caccamo would cap off the scoring at 59:34 off a pass from Josie Johnson. Ciampa would continue to battle until the final whistle, making eight saves in the fourth quarter and finishing the contest with 20 saves as New England closed out the afternoon with a 5-0 victory.

• New England would control the offensive statistics throughout the contest, finishing with 30 shots, including 25 on goal, compared to four shots and three shots on goal for Hartford. The Nor'easters would also hold a 13-1 advantage in penalty corners. 
• Hartford goalkeeper Ciampa would face a constant offensive attack and make 20 saves over the 60 minutes. She would record five saves in each of the first two quarters, two in the third and eight in the fourth.
• New England would finish with three saves as a team, all coming from Curtin during Hartford's three-shot third quarter.
• Kelso would lead the Nor'easters' scoring effort with two goals, while Ramunno would contribute a goal and an assist. Reeves and Caccamo would each add a goal, with Zielinski, Culver and Johnson recording assists.

The Hawks will look to bounce back from Saturday's conference match up as they host Western Connecticut State University on October 7th at 6:00 PM.

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