DANBURY, Conn. - The Western Connecticut State University field hockey squad snapped a five-match losing streak to non-league foe Ramapo College with a dominant 4-0 shutout on Tuesday night at The WAC, marking the Wolves' first home win over the Roadrunners in exactly 10 years.
Senior Madison Preston (Brookfield, Conn.) got things started just 1:11 into the match, redirecting home the rebound of a saved Jaelyn Moulton shot for her sixth goal of the season. The Wolves kept pouring on the pressure in the second quarter, out-shooting Ramapo, 6-0, in the frame. Sophomore Kayla Rotella-White (Ossining, N.Y.) netted her first career goal at 21:32 — moments after junior Jaelyn Moulton (Stafford Springs, Conn.) rattled the post — and senior Grace Gundeck (Danbury, Conn.) made it 3-0 at 29:03, finishing off a feed from Moulton to cap the half.
Moulton, who fired a game-high nine shots on the night, added an exclamation point in the fourth quarter, converting a penalty stroke at 52:29 for her seventh marker of the season. Senior Alyssa Montalvo (Holbrook, N.Y.) helped control the tempo throughout, drawing four of the host's five penalty corners, while sophomore Ellenoire Schoen (Newtown, Conn.) also tested Ramapo's defense late.
WestConn's defense did the rest, with freshman Brooklyn Testa (Danbury, Conn.) and junior Jaden Kilmer (East Islip, N.Y.) splitting time in net and combining for five saves to preserve the shutout — Kilmer turning away a pair of early Ramapo chances and Testa closing it out with three saves in the second half, including stops on shots from Ramapo's Haylee Townsend and Eliana Momm. Sophomore Catlin Dillinger (Pine Plains, N.Y.) and senior Kaitlyn Biase (Nesconset, N.Y.) each came up with a key defensive save to help keep Ramapo off the board.
Ramapo had won five straight in the series entering Tuesday, and WestConn hadn't beaten the Rams at home in a decade — making this shutout a significant result for the Wolves, who improve to 5-4 on the season. Ramapo falls to 3-3. The Wolves will look to build on the momentum when they travel to UMass Dartmouth for their Little East Conference opener on Saturday at 1 p.m. - weather pending.
