Smith Edges Western New England in Closing Minutes, 4-3

Junior Brittany DeLima leads Golden Bears with two goals and one assist

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 6, 2016) – Sophomore midfielder Emily Biggs (Florence, Mass.) scored with just under two minutes remaining in regulation to lift the Smith College field hockey team to a 4-3 victory over Western New England University this evening in non-conference action at Golden Bear Stadium.

Top Performers
• Junior forward Brittany DeLima (Branchville, N.J.) factored into all three of Western New England's goals, scoring a pair herself and providing an assist on the other.  
• Sophomore midfielder Emily Antinozzi (Rye, N.Y.) scored the game-tying goal early in the second half, her team-leading 11^th of the season.

• In addition to her game-winner, Biggs gave the Pioneers a 3-2 edge two minutes into the second half with an unassisted tally.
• Junior forward Julia Hamilton (Williamstown, Mass.) scored both of Smith's first half goals.

Game Review
• Hamilton staked Smith to a 1-0 lead at the 9:10 mark of the first half, but Western New England equalized just 1:05 later when sophomore Lana Felice (Pawling, N.Y.) fired a shot at the cage and DeLima tipped it in at the right post.
• DeLima then gave the Golden Bears a 2-1 lead in the 17^th minute on a penalty corner play, scoring on a feed from freshman forward Jacqueline Clark (Auburn, Mass.).
• The visitors would pull even 14:14 before halftime when senior forward Elsie Odhiambo (Oyugis, Kenya) sent in a cross from the right side and Hamilton was there to stuff it past Western New England junior goalkeeper Grace Trupe (Cardiff, Calif.).  
• Biggs put the Pioneers back in front with an unassisted goal at the 37:01 mark of the second half, but Western New England tied the score less than two minutes later as DeLima set up Antinozzi, who beat Smith junior Cameo Tietje (Massapequa, N.Y.) with a shot to the right side of the cage.
• The score remained deadlocked at 3-3 until Biggs came up with a loose ball in front of the goal with 1:58 on the clock and potted the game-winner. Western New England was awarded a penalty corner in the closing seconds, but the Golden Bears were unable to get a shot off as the Pioneers held on for the narrow victory.

Notes
• Smith outshot Western New England 11-7, but the Golden Bears held an 8-5 advantage in penalty corners.
• Trupe finished with four saves, while Tietje had one for the Pioneers.
• DeLima extended her point streak to six games with tonight's two-goal, one-assist performance. She leads the Golden Bears and ranks third in the CCC with 27 points this fall. Antinozzi ranks second on the team and fourth in the CCC with 25 points.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (5-6) hits the road for a CCC matchup at Nichols (11 AM), and Smith (7-5) returns home to host Babson at noon.