Junior Lily Stark became the leading goal scorer in field hockey program history Wednesday afternoon after scoring three times to help the Lasers defeat the Regis College Pride 5-2. Stark now leads the Great Northeastern Athletic Conference (GNAC) in goals with 22, and the Lasers stand in a tie for fourth in the conference with two games left in the regular season.
All goals in the match occurred in the first half, with Stark leading the charge on the stat sheet. The first to get on the board for the Lasers however was senior defender Sage Dodier. After a scrum in front of the net, the ball found the stick of Dodier who put it past Pride goalie Jocelyn White.
Next to score was senior forward Sheridan Blaha after being set up by Dodier out of the back, giving the Lasers a 2-0 lead nearing the end of the first. Just a minute later, Stark struck again. Junior defender Lisa Ortiz fed the forward up the right side, prompting a skillful run and score from Stark with two minutes remaining.
The Pride tallied their first goal at the start of the second period courtesy of junior Chloe Grande. Midway through the period, Blaha found Stark for her second goal of the match, bringing the score to 4-1.
At the 38-second mark before the half, Stark scored her penultimate point surpassing previous record holder Cailin Flannery (‘18) for most goals scored by a Lasers field hockey player in a single season.
“It feels pretty good, I knew I was like close but not that close so I’m glad I reached it before the season ended,” said Stark.
“I am super proud of Lily, her accomplishment, and how she plays. She is present in the moment each game and it shows in her success this season,” said head coach Jess Paulin. “Breaking the school record is a huge accomplishment… I am grateful to share this moment with Lily and the team and excited to see what’s ahead for us.”
Pride senior Morgan Pero scored before the halftime buzzer sounded bringing the score to 5-2, where it stayed for the remainder of the game. A scoreless thirty minutes followed the high-octane first half.
“The second half we tried some new things and had people in new positions which was a great opportunity for us before heading into playoffs,” said Paulin. “We also had zero goals against us in the second half which just goes to show how much our team relies on our defensive line, who have been really consistent for us all season. It’s nice to see our style of play work and come together.”
The Lasers have one regular season home game remaining before advancing to the GNAC playoffs. It will be played at Grellier Field next Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. against the Monks of Saint Joseph’s College Maine.
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