Bryant falls to Monmouth, 3-1

FIELD HOCKEY FALLS TO NEC-FOE MONMOUTH, 3-1

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University field hockey team fell to Monmouth, 3-1, Friday afternoon.

Three-straight goals by the home team, including two in the first half, were too much for the Bulldogs to overcome as they suffer only their second Northeast conference loss.

The Bulldogs (5-11) now fall to 2-2 in the NEC, while the Hawks (5-11) improve to 3-1 in conference.

Michelle Pieczynski netted her 11th score of the season nearly 13 minutes into the contest, off a corner from Tara Brown, to give the Hawks an early 1-0 lead.

Just over 16 minutes later, Brown collected a loose ball in front of the net, delivering a pass to Jill Vogl in front of the net for the second Monmouth goal of the game.

The two teams remained scoreless through 25 minutes into the second half.

Orla Macken put away her second marker of the year off a pass from Trish O'Dwyer to extend the Hawks' lead to 3-0.

The Bulldogs were able to get on the board at the 69:07 mark when sophomore Abigail Armstrong (Mahopac, N.Y.) collected the ball out of a scrum in front of the net to beat Monmouth keeper Teresa Mathews, cutting the lead to 3-1.

Junior Megan Hancock (Skowhegan, Maine) stopped eight shots in her 16th start of the season, while Mathews registered two saves in her fifth win of 2012.

 Bryant will head to Rider on Sunday when they take on the Broncs in a 12 p.m. showdown.

For links to live stats and streaming video of Sunday's action and all the latest on Bryant University field hockey, visit BryantBulldogs.com.