No. 5 UMass 4, Brown 0
Boxscore
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The No. 5 UMass field hockey team scored four second-half goals to break a scoreless tie, on the way to a 4-0 win on Sunday afternoon in Providence. Amber Fairon opened the scoring just 1:28 into the third quarter and the Minutewomen wouldn't look back.
Fairon finished the afternoon with a goal and career-high two assists. Sophia Ponzini, Lina Kroeger and Isla Campbell scored the other goals. Defensively, the Minutewomen allowed just three shots and one shot on goal all game, which goalkeeper Colleen Conlan stopped.
"We had a really good week of training last week going into this weekend," said head coach Barb Weinberg. "Two great results this weekend against App State and Brown."
UMass had two quick shots and a penalty corner in the game's opening minutes, but couldn't convert. The best first-half chance came from Ponzini, who hit a post on a reverse.
The Minutewomen opened the scoring early in the third quarter, as Niamh McKenzie led Fairon in the circle, who fired a hard reverse into the far corner of the cage to make it 1-0 at 31:28.
Just over six minutes later, the Minutewomen doubled their lead as Fairon found Ponzini in the circle, who fired a high shot past Brown goalkeeper Ellie Parker for her first-career goal.
Lina Kroeger added a penalty stroke goal with 14 seconds left in the third to make it 3-0 after 45 minutes of play. That capped a quarter which saw UMass tally all seven shots.
The Minutewomen outshot Brown 6-2 in the fourth and converted their final shot into the game's final goal, as Campbell scored for a second straight game.
Final shots were 16-3 in favor of UMass, with the Minutewomen holding a 3-2 edge in penalty corners. Conlan finished with one save, while Parker finished with one.
"This team is never satisfied," said Weinberg. "That's a message going ingo this week; We have to keep elevating our play each time."
UMass returns to action next weekend, traveling to Ball State on Friday and Bellarmine on Sunday. Both games are set to begin at 1 p.m.
