Falcons Drop 5-2 Decision To Western Connecticut State

Tocco and Gladu net one goal each in LEC setback

Danbury, Conn. – The Fitchburg State University field hockey team suffered a tough 5-2 setback to the Colonials of Western Connecticut State this afternoon in Little East Conference (LEC) action at the Western Connecticut Athletic Complex.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Western Connecticut State 5

Records: Fitchburg State (8-8, 5-5 LEC) I Western Connecticut State (11-6, 9-3 LEC)

How It Happened

Western Connecticut State took a 2-0 lead to open the contest as sophomore Kimberly Brower (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) found the back of the cage for her eight goal of the season at the 9:19 mark before Brower netted her second score of the contest minutes later.

Fitchburg State cut into the deficit in the 22nd minute of action when sophomore Nicole Tocco (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) collected a feed from junior Aislinn DeHorsey (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) and deposited a shot inside the near post for her seventh marker of the year to make the score 2-1.

With the score 3-1, the Falcon responded at the 31:58 mark as sophomore Chloe Gladu (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) received a pass from junior Olivia Grant (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth) and connected on her fourth goal of the 2018 campaign to make the score 3-2 going into the break.

Following the intermission, the Colonials secured the victory in the 48th minute of play when Brower completed the hat trick, firing a shot into the lower right corner as junior Lili Dickey (Westbrook, Conn./Westbrook), resulting in the 5-2 final.

Inside the Numbers

This morning's contest will mark the 13th meeting between the two teams in the sport of field hockey with the Falcons currently 8-5-0 all-time when taking on the Colonials.

The two teams had split the previous eight contests (4-4-0) with the Colonials collecting a 1-0 victory last season at Elliot Field.

In the cage, freshman Abby Bryant (Ware, Mass./Qaubbin Regional) made nine saves for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while sophomore Neve Manion (Newington, Conn./Newington) stopped three shots for the Owls in the victory.

DeHorsey notched one defensive save for the Green and Gold.

Western Connecticut State finished with a 20-8 advantage in shots, while Fitchburg State held a slim 6-5 edge in penalty corners.

Up Next

Falcons will travel to WPI on Tuesday to take on the Engineers for a non-conference matchup, starting at 7:00 PM. Colonials will visit Ramapo on Friday for a non-conference tilt at 3:30 PM.