Trailblazers down Bears in MASCAC Opener

North Adams - The Trailblazers kicked off their conference season today with a 3-0 shutout of Bridgewater State. The early action had Bridgewater State controlling the play and putting several shots on MCLA goalie Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, NY). However, as the half progressed the Bears shots got further away and for the Trailblazers offense it was quality not quantity that mattered.

The Trailblazers went up 1-0 at the 12:01 mark when Jade Prickett (Westhampton, MA) and Jess Tietgens (Stamford, VT) took advantage of the Bears defense up the field. Prickett made a beautiful pass the Tietgens received in stride with the Bears defense 30 yards from the goal. It was a foot race from there and Tietgens racing down the right side with the defender on her hip, put a shot into the far side corner giving the Trailblazers all they would need. Tietgens scored fifteen minutes later off a beautiful head pass from Lindsay Borbolla (Greenwich, NY) near the end line just inside the box. Borbolla absorbed a hard shot to the body as she made a beautiful touch pass; Tietgens buried it from a tough angle making it 2-0.

The Bears continued their long assault on Wehner all game and in the second half it was more of the same early. The Bears finished the game with thirteen shots on goal and actually outshot the Trailblazers 13-10.  Christine Soucy (Rockland, MA) had four shots on for the Bears leading the team. Bears leading scorer Kristina Ortiz (Dedham, MA) had two shots. The Trailblazers Harmony McGorman (Orleans, MA) put the game out of reach midway through the 2^nd half, taking a Tietgens pass and putting it in the back of the net for the 3-0 final. Wehner made thirteen saves for the shutout and Bears goalie Kayla Grover (Haverhill, MA) made seven saves in defeat.

Bridgewater falls to 1-3-1 (0-1) and will host Rhode Island College on Tuesday at 3:30 PM. MCLA moves to 4-2 (1-0) and will host Green Mountain Wednesday at 4:00 PM.