By Tiffany Williams –
Biddeford, ME – Lauren Coutu (Baldwinville, MA) scored as time expired at the end of the first half to give WPI a 1-0 road victory over the University of New England in a non-conference field hockey matchup on Sunday.
Both teams had earned shutouts in their respective season-opening games on Friday. With the win, the Engineers improve to 2-0 on the season, while UNE falls to 1-1.
The Nor’easters came out aggressively, generating five consecutive penalty corners early and attempting two of their three shots, but WPI held firm. The Engineers then dominated the remainder of the first half, firing 20 of the game’s final 21 shots and converting a late push into the match-winning goal. With 30 seconds remaining in the half, Coutu knocked home a rebound from a Madeline Chase (Danvers, MA) shot for her first goal of the season and second of her career.
WPI maintained control in the second half, allowing just one shot and no penalty corners over the final 23:46. Goalkeeper Myles Lakin (Reading, MA) earned her second consecutive shutout with two saves. UNE’s Micaela Jacobs (Waterboro, ME) stopped 10 shots, while Savanna Harvey (Cumberland, ME) added a key defensive save in the second quarter.
Offensively, Lauren Meinhold (Boxboro, MA) led WPI with five shots, Chase and Eve Martineau (Greene, ME) each recorded four, and Coutu contributed three off the bench.
Both teams return to road action on Wednesday against nationally ranked NESCAC opponents. WPI travels to No. 13 Wesleyan for a 6:30 p.m. matchup, while UNE heads to No. 24 Bowdoin in Brunswick at 7 p.m.