Field Hockey Triumphs Over Elms on Senior Day
Dean Field Hockey beat Elms College 7-0 with help from four different goal scorers, while also celebrating their seniors.
The Bulldogs (10-3) got the scoring going early in this game, finding the back of the net within the first five minutes of action. First year Mya Dixon got the ball into the scoring area for Dean, firing off a shot attempt that was tipped by junior Emma Gragen and redirected past the Elms (0-11) goalkeeper.
Less than a minute later, senior Keira Houdegbe joined the action and scored her first career goal. This one came off of a corner with a set piece from the Bulldogs. Emily Yazzetti passed the ball into the middle of the field and Houdegbe fired it into the net.
Dean went up 3-0 before the end of the first quarter of play with the third goal coming from senior Emily Kilpatrick and the assist from Houdegbe.
When asked earlier this week about what Kilpatrick has learned from the program through four years of play, she commented, "I think how much hard work pays off. We work hard every day, practice is hard and fun, but it's also about finding a balance between the two."
In her senior year, Kilpatrick has scored nine goals, already surpassing any total from her first three years. She also has four assists, matching her career high total from last year.
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The Bulldogs would finish out the first half with another goal from Gragen, her ninth of the season. This scoring opportunity came off playmaking from Yazzetti and the finish from Gragen to sneak it over the goal line.
The scoring pace slowed down a bit for the home team as neither team scored in the third quarter. However, they would pick it back up in the fourth quarter with three more goals.
Kilpatrick picked up her second goal of the game 45 minutes in to extend Dean’s lead to five. Coming off of a corner once again, Jordan Boelig set up Kilpatrick in front of the net and sailed the shot over the shoulder of goalkeeper Ashlyn Cullity.
First year Hailey Lamping scored the sixth goal of the game and Gragen capped off the successful senior day game with a 7-0 final score.
Despite the Bulldogs getting their tenth win of the season, the bigger story was celebrating their five seniors: Jordan Boelig, Emily Kilpatrick, Keira Houdegbe, Ella Belanger, and Hailey Sykes.
As a unit, their biggest achievement was winning the GNAC championship last year and becoming the first Dean team to win a conference championship, etching their names in the history books.
Coach Megan Gutierrez noted, "This group has shown how much they were willing to stick through the hard days and the great days. They were here for the growth always. This class was also part of my very first win as a collegiate coach in their freshman year, so it truly is so special."
With seven games left on the schedule and three of them being GNAC competitions, the team is looking to keep their foot on the pedal after jumping into 2nd in the conference standings.
Kilpatrick mentioned what she was looking forward to in the last stretch of games. "I'm excited to play New England College, they were one of our hardest matchups last year. I'm also just looking forward to seeing how far we can get this year."
The Bulldogs will play NEC on October 17th, a rematch of the GNAC semifinals game where Dean won 1-0, courtesy of a goal from Kilpatrick herself.
Coach Gutierrez talked about what she wants to see for the rest of the season, saying she expects "for the hard work to keep getting better through the hard. With having such a large target on our back, we are getting every opponent’s best game. But what an honor it is because we get to sharpen our game every time!"
After their win over Elms, the Bulldogs are now looking forward to an away matchup against University of Saint Joseph's in West Hartford, CT on October 14th.
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