09/27/2008
Lennon Leads Field Hockey Past Anna Maria, 5-2

WORCESTER, MASS. 09/27/08  First-year Meghan Lennon (Charlton, Mass.) had three goals and an assist to lead the Clark University field hockey team to a 5-2 non-conference victory over Anna Maria College on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Granger Field. Clark moved to 4-3 overall, while Anna Maria dipped to 1-8 on the season.

The two teams traded goals early. After taking a penalty corner, sophomore Sarah Boyda (Oxford, Mass.) rushed around the defense and fired a shot past Clark goalie Kathryn Dawsey (Saratogoa Springs, N.Y.) to give the Amcats a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the game. Clark tied the game when Lennon found the back of the cage just over four minutes later. Junior Chelsea Proulx (Franklin, N.H.) was credited with an assist on the play.

The Cougars then scored three unanswered goals within a seven minute span to take a 4-1 advantage. First-year Mary Nugent (Worcester, Mass.) pushed in a pass from Erin Murhpy (Boxboro, Mass.) at 24:38 on the clock and Lennon notched a pair of goals within 1:17 to take a three-goal lead. Lennon tops the team in scoring with five goals and three assists.

Anna Maria trimmed the deficit in half (2-4) when junior Angela Guiffrida (Leicester, Mass.) broke in alone for an unassisted goal at the 16:19 mark of the second half. However, Clark regained the three-goal advantage after Madeleine Henefield (Pelham, Mass.) scored with 8:04 remaining to account for the final score (5-2).

Dawsey made two saves in goal for Clark. Sophomore Alyssa Boykin (Worcester, Mass.) had a busy day in goal, stopping 13 shots for Anna Maria.

Clark will host WPI in its New England Womens and Mens Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener next Saturday (1 p.m.). Anna Maria will entertain Husson College on Wednesday (4 p.m.).