AMCATS Drop 6-5 Battle to Clark

Worcester, Mass.— The AMCATS dropped 6-5 in a close battle with Worcester-area rival Clark University in non-league action on Thursday afternoon at Granger Turf Complex. Olivia Barksdale (Fort Washington, Md.) scored the game-winning goal with less the eight minutes to play to bring Clark to victory.

The win for the Cougars moves them to 1-0 on the season while the AMCATS drop to 0-1 overall.

STORY LINE

Kaitlyn Moran (Leicester, Mass.) pumped in four goals to lead the AMCAT attack, including two in a four minute span that gave the visitors a 3-1 lead midway through the first half. Olivia Barksdale, who scored the game-winning goal, finished with three goals and an assist.

Clark held the lead on the stat sheet in shots (22-10) and penalty corners (14-5).

SCORING

First half: Nicole Denver (Springfield, Mass.) opened up the game with her tally in the seventh minute, but Haley Mahan (Bedford, N.H.) knotted the score less than ten minutes later. Moran netted back to back goals in the 18^th and 22^nd minutes of play to put the AMCATS up 3-1. Clark was able to get even by intermission when Olivia Cotton (Northampton, Mass.) and Barksdale scored goals less than two minutes apart in the waning minutes of the first half.

Second half: Moran opened the second half with her third tally of the game to put the AMCATS up 4-3. The Cougars responded with back to back goals from Lauren Mackey (Dublin, N.H.) and Barksdale to gain their first lead of the game. The AMCATS were able to tie it up again at five a piece with a fourth goal from Moran with less than 15 minutes to play. Barksdale concluded the day with a game-winning goal with less than eight minutes to play.

GOALTENDERS

Junior goaltender Bryanna Tobin (Deep River, Conn.) finished with seven saves for the AMCATS while Dani Michaud (Providence, R.I.) finished with five. Sophomore goalkeeper Gaby Deangelis (Bayville N.Y.) saw 15 minutes in net with no action.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Clark is off until Tuesday when they visit another Worcester-area school, Nichols for a 7:00 p.m. start. The AMCATS meanwhile, start a three-game homestand on Saturday with a meeting against Colby-Sawyer at 1:00 p.m.