HAWKS EDGE PRIDE IN NECC OPENER

WESTON, Mass. – Becker College's Michelle Griczika (Barre, Mass.) scored a pair of goals in the first half and Becker fought off a late charge by Regis College as the Hawks defeated the Pride 2-1 on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference field hockey action. Becker picks up its first win in 2012, moving to 1-10 overall and 1-0 in the NECC. Regis remains winless at 0-10 overall and drops to 0-1 in the NECC.

Both Regis and Becker wore pink articles of clothing to support Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Pride donned pink socks throughout the game as well as pink t-shirts during warm-ups.

Regis came out the aggressor as the Pride held an early 7-3 shot advantage in the opening in minutes of play. The Hawks finally forced the ball into the Pride circle and Katherine DiMascio (Braintree, Mass.) found Griczika in front of the net for an open shot that gave the Hawks an early 1-0 lead.

The Pride's Cheyenne Genga (South Windsor, Conn.) nearly found the equalizer as a give-and-go between her and Sashae Walls (Everett, Mass.) led to a Genga blast from 10 yards out, but Becker's Gabrielle Gallo (Northport, N.Y.) reached out and made a stick save to preserve the 1-0 Becker advantage. The Hawks added an insurance goal with just under nine minutes remaining in the opening half as Michelle Griczika redirected a long strike off the stick of Jessica Wheelahan (Watertown, Conn.) past the Regis keeper to make it a 2-0 Becker lead.

That was the score at halftime despite the Pride outshooting the Hawks at a 13-5 clip and holding a 7-2 advantage in penalty corners. Becker's Gallo was up to the task as she made seven saves in the opening period. Regis' Raegan Heck (Phillipston, Mass.) allowed two goals on five shots faced in the first frame.

The Pride came out firing on all cylinders to open the second half as they quickly forced four more penalty corners and rattled off five more shots. Finally, a Cheyenne Genga shot was sent away by Gallo, but the Pride's Becka Sarson (York, Maine) was there to clean up as her third goal of the season knifed the deficit in half at 2-1.

Regis continued to keep up the pressure but could never find the equalizer. Stacy Burns (Waltham, Mass.) hit a long stroke into the box that was tipped into the air by Yasmine Akib (Everett, Mass.), but the tip sailed just wide of its mark and the score remained 2-1. Shelby Looney (Leicester, Mass.) had one last attempt at tying the game with under a minute to play, but the attempt was blocked by a Hawks defender and the ball traveled to midfield where Becker ran out the clock and hung on for the 2-1 win.

The Pride held a 28-10 lead in shots as well as a 17-6 edge in penalty corners for the game, but only came away with the one tally. Becker's Gabrielle Gallo improves to 1-4 on the year while making 14 saves and allowing the one goal. The Pride's Raegan Heck falls to 0-7 in 2012 while making two saves and allowing two goals.

The Crimson and Gold continue the search for their first win of the season on Tuesday afternoon as the Pride hosts Daniel Webster College in an NECC matchup at 4:30 p.m. Becker tries to make it two in-a-row when they travel to Anna Maria College for a league game on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.