This past weekend the Bison field hockey squad fought hard for two wins in the opening weekend of Patriot League play. The wins were a whole team effort, with a total of seven different goal-scorers throughout the weekend.

The Orange and Blue completely dominated their first league game of the season, securing a 7-2 victory. First-year Lilly Nielson led this tremendous effort, tallying a school-record five goals on the day. Three of Nielson’s goals came in the second quarter, making it a hat-trick in a single quarter alone. Nielsen earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week, Offensive Player of the Week, and Bison Athlete of the Week for her record-breaking performance.

Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week Erin Zielinski ’22 proved similarly pivotal to the victory, adding three assists on the day in addition to her usual lock-down defense. Juniors Mackenzie Kile, Maddie Rehak, and Kayla Kisthardt all contributed to strong play in the midfield, each adding at least one helper on the day.

The Orange and Blue continued this momentum into their Sunday matchup against Sacred Heart, where they earned a resilient 4-2 comeback win. After going down two goals early in the first quarter, four different Bison were able to find the back of the net and lead the squad to victory. MK Stefanowicz ’22, Reanne Burgess ’24, Rachel Apa ’24 and Rehak all tallied goals.

Despite a tough first quarter, the Bison dominated overall with a 19-6 shot advantage and a 14-3 penalty corner advantage.

“It was a really fun atmosphere to be playing in. We had a lot of friends and family at the games, and ended up scoring tons of goals,” Grace McEvoy ’22 said.

This big win weekend gives the Orange and Blue a 5-2-0 record so far this season. The Bison hope to continue this winning streak as they travel to Massachusetts this weekend to face Patriot League foe Boston University, in addition to Harvard University.