Daugherty, Otis Lead Warriors Past AIC, 6-0, Saturday Afternoon
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Guided by a pair of scores from seniors April Daugherty (Wakefield, R.I.) and Jen Otis (Penacook, N.H.), the No. 7 Merrimack field hockey team cruised past AIC, 6-0, on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Mass.
Winners of four straight since dropping their season opener, the Warriors improve to 4-1 on the young season, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 0-6.
After dominating Saint Michael's by a 7-0 margin earlier this week, the Warriors' offense has truly begun to fire on all cylinders in the last few outings, as Merrimack has now out-scored opponents by a 17-1 margin over the last three games.
Daugherty increased her goal total on the season with her fourth and fifth markers while finishing the day with five points to lead the visitors. Otis, meanwhile, found the back of the cage for the second and third time on the year, as the Warriors exploded for five second-half goals after owning just a slim 1-0 advantage after the first 35 minutes.
One game after scoring a school-record six goals on Wednesday, junior Candace Waldie (North Andover, Mass.) put the Warriors on the board with her team-leading 10th tally of the year at 19:12, taking a feed from Daugherty and burying it for the early 1-0 lead.
That score would hold through the remainder of the first half, one that Merrimack out-shot the Yellow Jackets by a 18-2 margin during, until Daugherty took a pass from Waldie and snuck it home on the right side of the cage at 46:38 in the second half to double the lead.
Ten minutes later, Otis upped the lead to 3-0 on an unassisted strike on the left side of the circle, and moments later Daugherty and Otis connected again, this time as the latter struck a long shot down the goal line before Daugherty redirected it home for a 4-0 advantage.
Just over a minute later, junior Jessica Otis (Pittsford, N.Y.) buried a shot from 10 yards out for her first goal of the season before Jen Otis rounded out the scoring on the Warriors' final goal of the game at 67:11, taking a pass from Waldie in the circle and putting it home to make it a six-goal lead.
"After a slow first half, I'm glad the team came alive in the second half," head coach Anne Rounce said afterward. "It was great to see an array of players putting the ball in the back of the net."
For the second straight game, senior goalkeeper Kerri Bergquist (Mashpee, Mass.) was perfect in net, finishing with three saves, while AIC netminder Kori Huffman finished with 13 stops for the home side.
In total, Merrimack out-shot the Yellow Jackets by a 30-5 margin and held a 18-3 advantage in penalty corners.
Next up for Merrimack is a home bout with Franklin Pierce on Tuesday, Sept. 18. First whistle from Martone-Mejail Field is set for 7 p.m.
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