BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Forward Bethany Bush '11 (Littleton, Mass.) scored three goals--all in the first half--to lead the Bridgewater State College Bears to a 3-2 non-conference field hockey victory over the University of New England Nor'easters Wednesday evening.

The win halts a brief two-game losing streak for the Bears, who improve to 11-5.  The Nor'easters conclude their regular season with a mark of 5-10.

UNE jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Lisa Baillargeon '08 (Berlin, N.H.) controlled a drive by teammate Amy Williams '08 (Bridgewater, N.H.) and knocked the ball in the back of the cage 4:46 into the match.

The Bears would come roaring back midway through the opening frame.  Bush initiated her hat-trick at the 17:31 mark to tie things at 1-all.  She would score the game-winner less than three minutes later, then converted an Ashley Panzini '08 (Saugus, Mass.) pass just before the half to give the Bears a 3-1 advantage heading to intermission.  Bush's three scores push her team-leading total to 12 on the season.

The Nor'easters would slice the deficit in half 8:17 into the second stanza when Baillargeon crossed the ball to Kim Anderson '09 (Bowdoin, Maine), who pushed home her third goal of the season.

Starting goalie Nicole Downs '08 (Hanover, Mass.) made two saves in the first half to record the win for the Bears.  Katie Weber '11 (Arlington, Mass.) came off the bench to register three stops in the second half, including a key save with just over 11 minutes to play and another on the closing penalty corner.

Tanya Callan '08 (Brick, N.J.) and Ayla Nelson '11 (Auburn, Mass.) combined to turn away four shots for UNE.

Bridgewater State will conclude its regular season Saturday at Plymouth State University (noon start).

The Nor'easters have qualified for The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament will host an opening-round game versus Nichols College Saturday at 1:00 p.m. 

Box Score

(posted Oct. 24, 2007 | 20:23 ET - edited 22:22 ET)