SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The La Salle women's field hockey team got only 14 minutes of play under its belt before a weather delay paused the contest for nearly four hours. The Explorers battled through the long break and a field change to ultimately defeat the Bryant Bulldogs 4-1 in the season opener.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• La Salle saw its chance at scoring in the first quarter with three consecutive corners. Its best shot came on the second attempt when inputter Tatum Johnson placed the ball at the top of the circle before cutting over to the right of the cage for the reception back. She went one-on-one with the goalie, but the play ultimately resulted in a third corner.
• The second quarter saw a new field for the two teams resulting in a scoring drought with the Explorers and Bulldogs knotted at 0-0 to enter the second half.
• Johnson got her redemption finding the back of the cage and putting La Salle on the board in the 39^th minute of the game. Five minutes went by before back-to-back corners put Bryant in a position to tie it 1-1 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
• Johnson looked to put La Salle back in the lead early in the fourth quarter finding Peyton Tollaksen on a corner, but the Bulldog goalkeeper was there for the save. Johnson didn't quit putting the Explorers up 2-1 in the 50^th minute.
• Sofia Pla jumped on the scoring train taking a penalty stroke in the 51^st minute lifting the ball into the middle right corner of the net just out of reach of the Bulldogs goalkeeper to give the Explorers a two-point lead (3-1).
• La Salle never looked back controlling possession the remainder of the game and not allowing a single shot highlighted by a final Explorer goal from Cat McFadden in the final minute of play.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Johnson led the offensive effort for La Salle with three goals. She rattled off a tied team-high six shots with five landing on goal.
• Tollaksen made an impact tying the team-high in shots with six. She placed four on goal.
• Freshmen Malena Balduzzi totaled three shots, Pla had two and Sol Espona, Samie Hackman and Zhao Rodrigo each tallied one.
• Ryan Curley recorded all 60 minutes in the cage making four saves.
• La Salle outshot Bryant 22 (15) – 6 (5). The Explorers recorded 14 shots in the second half alone.
• The Explorers held the advantage in corners 9-6 and committed 38 fouls to 18.

UP NEXT:

• The Explorers stay up north for the second-leg of their five-game road trip to face Merrimack on Sunday, August 28 12 p.m. The contest will be available to stream on NEC Front Row.