BRYANT FIELD HOCKEY FALLS TO SECOND-SEEDED MONMOUTH, 4-1, IN NEC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL

November 5, 2010

BRYANT FIELD HOCKEY FALLS TO SECOND-SEEDED MONMOUTH, 4-1, IN FIRST-EVER DI POSTSEASON APPEARANCE

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Senior Elise Boissoneau (Ashburnham, Mass.) scored the Bryant field hockey program's first-ever postseason goal in the second half of Friday's Northeast Conference Tournament semifinal, but the third-seeded Bulldogs couldn't find the back of the net enough times to overtake second-seeded Monmouth, falling, 4-1, in the first Division I postseason appearance in Bryant Athletics history.

Boissoneau's goal, her seventh of the year, cut into a three-goal Hawks (15-4) lead just moments after Michelle Pieczynski gave Monmouth a 3-0 advantage. There was just 26 seconds between the two scores, as the senior forward converted on a Chiedza Mawema (Harare, Zimbabwe) cross to breathe life back into the Bryant (8-12) side.

But despite outshooting the Hawks, 12-11, and controlling much of the second-half possession on offense, the Bulldogs couldn't force the ball past a strong Monmouth defense to overcome the early deficit.

Monmouth got on the board first, opening up a 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes of the contest. Morganne Firmstone gave the Hawks their first edge of the day 10:02 into the contest, ripping a shot directly off Nora Bosmans's insert on a penalty corner. The shot, taken from the top of the circle, found a clear path into the right side of the cage.

Just over seven minutes later, Ashley McPeek scored an unassisted tally off the rebound of a Tara Brown shot, doubling the Hawks' advantage just under halfway through the first frame.

The score would hold through the halftime break, but Monmouth would get another just 3:41 after the restart, this time from Pieczynski.

And while Boissoneau's answering score would take the shutout off the board and re-energize the Bulldog side, Kimmy Baligian nailed home the Monmouth victory at the 42:56 mark with the final tally in a 4-1 win.

The Bulldogs were awarded 16 penalty corners to the Hawks' six and put seven shots on goal, led by three from rookie Olivia Jankins (West Brookfield, Mass.) (game-high six total shots).

Junior goalie Jennifer Gullotti (Waltham, Mass.) recorded five saves in the outing, while Monmouth's Melissa Katz turned away six Bryant shots.

The Hawks advance to Saturday's NEC Tournament final (12 p.m.) with the win and take on the victor of Friday's second semifinal matchup between top-ranked Rider and fourth-seeded Quinnipiac. The Bulldogs conclude the 2010 season with a record eight wins (most in Division I era) and earned the program's first-ever DI postseason berth. Bryant finished third overall in the Northeast Conference standings.