Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. -- The University of New England field hockey team received scores from sophomore Hayley LaPointe (Topsham, Maine) and senior Michelle Oswald (Jay, Maine) on its way to a 2-1 win over Nichols College in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) field hockey match played Tuesday afternoon at Vendetti Field.

Big Blue (8-1 CCC) goes to 16-1 on the year, matching the single-season program record for wins set back in 2009. The triumph was also the team's ninth road victory of the 2011 campaign -- surpassing the previous mark of eight established the same season.

LaPointe knocked in a loose ball at the 11:21 mark of the opening half, scoring on the first of three UNE shot attempts in the period. The margin remained 1-0 at the break, as there were limited chances either way.

Play opened up a bit as the second frame began, and Oswald made it 2-0 with a breakaway score in the 41st minute. With the marker, Oswald rejoins fellow senior co-captain Bree Tupper in a tie for second place on the all-time UNE goals list, at 37.

The Bison brought it back to 2-1 on a goal by junior Emily Widdison (Greenfield, Mass.) in the 64th minute, and had a couple of tries down the stretch to tie things up, but could not find a second score.

First-year Kaitlyn Warren (Boscawen, N.H.) stopped five shots for UNE, which hosts a non-conference game against MIT on Wednesday (6 p.m.). The contest features the top two teams in the NCAA's New England East regional rankings, which first came out last Wednesday afternoon.

For Nichols (8-7, 4-4), first-year goalie Molly Melanson (Simsbury, Conn.) made seven saves. The Bison are back at it on Thursday, with a CCC match at Western New England University.