BRUNSWICK — Kelsey Sullivan had a hat trick to lead Brunswick past Morse 6-4 in season-opening field hockey action for both teams Saturday.

Coaches for both teams said the players were just happy to be back on the field.

“We were thrilled to be out there today,” Brunswick coach Carrie Sullivan said. “That was the best.”
“It was fantastic seeing the girls playing for the first time,” Morse head coach Kerri Reno said.
The Dragons struck first when Emma Lind converted a pass from Lauren Jacobs to go up 1-0, just 51 seconds into the game.
Brunswick maintained pressure throughout the quarter, with Morse goalie Gracie Hawks (seven saves) making a couple of big saves to keep the deficit at one when the first quarter ended.
After a scoring chance for Morse forward Lily Clifford that went just wide, Sullivan scored two goals within two minutes of each other to push the Dragons’ lead to three.

After a couple of penalty corners for Morse, and some big saves by Brunswick goalie Hanna Wentworth, the score remained at 3-0 at halftime.

Just a few minutes into the second half, Sullivan again found the back of the net after a scrum for the ball in the middle of the box.
“It felt good to finally have a game,” Sullivan said. “We had everyone chipping in and had a lot of goals from everyone.”
Morse got on the board just over five minutes into the third quarter, after Isabel Sterlneck put home a rebound after a save by Brunswick goalie Ahavah Burch, who subbed in for Wentworth for the third quarter.
Just over a minute later, Morse forward Kennedy St. Pierre cut the lead down to two, wristing a shot into the bottom corner of the net just past the outstretched arms of Burch.
Brunswick added another goal toward the end of the third, when Sara Coughlin scored with six minutes to go.
Coughlin added her second goal of the day in the fourth, with Abbie Belanger setting her up with 13:16 to go in the game.
The Shipbuilders did not go quietly, however, and kept the ball in the Dragons end of the field for most of the quarter.
After a couple missed opportunities, and a great save by Wentworth, who checked back into the game in the fourth, Clifford fired a hard shot that was deflected by a Dragons defender into the back of the net to bring Morse within three.
Morse maintained pressure until the very end, adding another goal late from Dylan Barr, to make it 6-4.
Wentworth finished with five saves and Burch had two.
“It was great to see our team get an early jump and an early cushion,” Sullivan said.