Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior Michelle Oswald (Jay, Maine) scored twice in the final 4:48 to rally the University of New England to a 4-3 win over Bridgewater State University in non-conference field hockey action played Tuesday evening under the lights at Swenson Field.

The victory improves Big Blue's record to 10-6, marking the second consecutive season of double-digit wins for the Nor'easters. The Bears suffered their third straight one-goal setback -- and first home loss of the season -- to drop to 8-7.

Trailing 3-1 at intermission, the Nor'easters cut their deficit in half at the 51:22 mark when sophomore Laura Egounis (Boscawen, N.H.) swatted home a rebound.

UNE continued to trail, however, until Oswald converted a centering pass from first-year Casey Clark (Fraconia, N.H.) to knot the score at three with 4:48 on the clock.

The Nor'easters continued the surge offensively, capping their dramatic comeback when senior Michaela Franey (York, Maine) pulled Bridgewater State goalie Katie Weber (Arlington, Mass.) out of the cage before dumping the ball to Oswald, who took advantage of the empty goal mouth to deposit the game-winner with 3:11 remaining.

After junior Bree Tupper (Winthrop, Maine) gave UNE a 1-0 lead with her 10th goal 6:33 into the match, the host Bears responded with three consecutive tallies over the remainder of the half. Senior Bethany Bush (Littleton, Mass.) sandwiched a pair of goals around a Breanna Clement (Pittsfield, Maine) marker  to build Bridgewater's 3-1 cushion.

The stat sheet read favorably for the Nor'easters, with Big Blue establishing a 23-12 advantage in shots and remarkable 24-3 lead in penalty corners. UNE forced 15 corners in the second half.

Senior goalkeeper Ayla Nelson (Auburn, Mass.) made six stops for the Nor'easters, while Weber turned aside 16 for the hosts.

With the regular season at a close, UNE has its sights set on The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship when it hosts Gordon College Saturday for an opening-round game. Game time will be made official Thursday morning.