University of Maine
Bryant
Black Bears Blank Bryant, 7-0
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ORONO, Maine -- Jocelyn Mitchell (Kanata, Ontario) picked up a hat trick in the first 10:54 of the University of Maine field hockey team's game against Bryant to lead the Black Bears past the Bulldogs, 7-0. The win is Maine's third in a row as they improve to 5-2 on the season while Bryant falls to 0-6.
The Black Bears' attack came out firing early as Mitchell put Maine on the board just 2:34 into the first half. Maine set up its corner attack early and after Bryant goalkeeper Jennifer Gullotti kicked away an initial shot from the point, Mitchell was in perfect position to snag the rebound and put Maine up 1-0.
Maine would continue its pressure on penalty corners when freshman Alexa Binnendijk (Den Haag, Holland) fired a shot from the point that Mitchell was able to get a stick on and tip into the back of the cage.
Just twenty-eight seconds later, Mitchell would tally her third goal on the day. Junior forward Stephanie Gardiner rocketed a shot from outside of the circle towards the cage as Mitchell was in perfect position to get a stick on the sailing ball and redirect it past Gullotti for her hat trick goal, putting Maine up 3-0 just 10:54 into the first period.
The Black Bears' penalty corner attack would continue to cause problems for the Bryant defenders. At the 14:07 mark, Maine again set up on a penalty corner. Senior captain Courtney Veinotte (Canaan, Maine) pushed the ball to the top of the circle. Fellow senior captain Mallory Anderson (Hampton Falls, N.H.) made the stop for Maine as freshman Binnendijk fired a shot into the back of the Bulldog cage. For Binnendijk, it was her first career goal for the Black Bears.
Maire Dineen (Toronto, Ontario) would notch Maine's fifth first-half goal at the 20:12 mark when she capitalized on a rebound and flicked a shot past Gullotti, putting Maine up 5-0 to end the first half.
The Black Bears would add another goal when Veinotte took advantage of a penalty stroke at the 45:15 mark. Veinotte buried a nice shot into the bottom left hand corner of the cage to put Maine up 6-0.
Maine would end its scoring when senior Cassandra Mendonca (Thornhill, Ontario) carried the ball in through the Bryant circle, weaving through defenders and slapping a shot into the back of the Bulldog cage to put Maine up 7-0. It was the second game in a row where the Black Bears have recorded seven goals.
Brittany Fleck (Vancouver, British Columbia) was solid in the cage for Maine as she picked up her second shutout of the season while making four saves and improving her record to 5-1. Gullotti made five saves for Bryant but drops to 0-6 on the season.
The Black Bears are back in action Sunday when they travel to take on Yale at 2 p.m.
-U-M-
