No. 4 Merrimack Punches Ticket to NE-10 Finals with 6-0 Win Over Adelphi
Daugherty/Spano Postgame Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Guided by a pair of first-half goals and a game-high five points from senior forward April Daugherty (Wakefield, R.I.), the fourth-ranked and top-seeded Merrimack field hockey team downed visiting fourth-seeded Adelphi, 6-0, in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Martone-Mejail Field.
Improving to 16-2 overall on the season, the Warriors win for the ninth consecutive match and will next play conference rival UMass-Lowell for a chance to claim their first-ever NE-10 Tournament title tomorrow afternoon in the championship game. Adelphi, meanwhile, sees its season end with an overall record of 8-12.
After a quiet opening 30 minutes, Merrimack exploded for three goals in the span of 3:20, as senior Jamie Spano (Reading, Mass.) put the home side on the board with her fourth goal of the season to break the scoreless draw before Daugherty notched back-to-back strikes within a span of just over two minutes, as the Warriors took a 3-0 lead into the break.
Merrimack pushed ahead with three more goals in the second half, as junior Candace Waldie (North Andover, Mass.), senior Jen Otis (Penacook, N.H.) and rookie Katrina Squeri (Chelmsford, Mass.) each found the back of the cage to account for the final margin of victory.
Senior goalkeeper Kerri Bergquist (Mashpee, Mass.) posted an impressive seven-save performance for the home side, while visiting netminder Kristine Puzio turned aside 11 shots for Adelphi.
"Great team victory for us against a tough Adelphi squad," head coach Anne Rounce said afterward. "We'll have to bring our A-game against a very talented UMass-Lowell team tomorrow."
Thanks to several head-turning saves from Bergquist earlier in the first half on the few scoring chances that Adelphi mustered, the game remained scoreless heading into the final five minutes of the stanza. That was when junior Jessica Otis (Pittsford, N.Y.) sent a long cross from right-to-left in the middle of the circle in front of the goalmouth. Waiting for the feed was Spano, who buried it into the left side of the cage to put Merrimack on the board at 31:12 of the first half.
Just over a minute later, Daugherty notched her 19th goal of the season after picking up a loose ball and unloading a bullet of a shot into the right side of the net. Before the half ended, the Wakefield, R.I., native and all-time leading scorer for the program would strike again, as Waldie and Jen Otis helped set up a scoring play on a penalty corner, allowing Daugherty to bury her second score of the game to wrap up the half.
Merrimack controlled the first frame with a 17-7 edge in shot attempts, while Bergquist notched five saves compared to seven for Puzio. The Warriors also held a commanding 7-2 lead in penalty corners in the first 35 minutes of action.
The Warriors wasted little time before making it a four-goal game to start the second, as Daugherty sent a pass to Waldie from left-to-right for an easy tap-in goal on the left side of the cage at 38:02.
Just about 15 minutes later, Jen Otis added her first goal of the game and 11th of the season on a penalty corner feed from Spano before Otis blasted it into the cage to make it 5-0 at 52:18.
Finally, Squeri and Spano connected on a pretty give-and-go play down the left side of the circle before the rookie midfielder beat Puzio to her right to wrap it up.
In total, the Warriors outshot Adelphi by a 28-12 margin and owned a 9-4 lead in penalty corners.
Merrimack will next take on No. 6 UMass-Lowell tomorrow, Oct. 28, in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. First whistle from Martone-Mejail Field is set for 12 p.m.
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