NEWPORT, R.I. - Sophomore Kathryn Pellegrini (Newton, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season with under 15 minutes remaining and classmate Helen Bohenberger (East Falmouth, Mass.) made four saves as the Salve Regina University field hockey team kept its playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Anna Maria College in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) action Saturday afternoon at the Lawrence Avenue Field.

Freshmen Kristen Nazzarese (Ringwood, N.J.) and Heather Kapatoes (Hopedale, Mass.) also scored for the Seahawks, who outshot the AMCats (2-13, 0-8 TCCC) 37-9 on the afternoon to improve to 3-12 on the season and 2-5 in the conference.

"Today was a must win for us to keep our playoff hopes alive, and we did what we needed to do to get the win," said Seahawks head coach Jen Eldridge. "With one remaining conference game, we control our postseason destiny and the team is well aware of what we need to do."

The Seahawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Nazzarese potted her second goal of the season 11:56 into the contest. They stretched the lead to 2-0 when Pellegrini converted a pass from senior Lindsey Burt (Hopedale, Mass.) into her first goal of 2010 at 56:36.

Anna Maria sliced the deficit in half when senior Emily Nugent (Worcester, Mass.) scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season at 62:41, but the Seahawks answered back less than three minutes later as Kapatoes' second goal of the season at 65:23 sealed the win.

Senior Allyssa Boykin (Worcester, Mass.) made 19 saves for Anna Maria. Nugent led the team with three shots.

Prior to the contest, the Seahawks honored seniors Burt, Jillian Stanley (Watertown, Conn.) and Brittany Lopes (Lexington, Mass.) for their contributions to the Salve Regina field hockey program over the last four years. "Today's game was special because we were able to recognize our three seniors," said Eldridge. "These three seniors are standout players for us, but also great young women that I have been very lucky to coach the past four years. With three regular season games remaining in their careers, I know they are going to do everything in their power to keep our season alive."

The contest also marked the Seahawks second year participating in the Susan G. Komen 'Play for the Cure' campaign, which draws awareness to breast cancer and raises funds for breast cancer education. Members of the field hockey team wore reminder bands with the campaign slogan 'Play 4 the Cure' inscribed on them, and a pink ball was used during game action. Donations to help fund breast cancer awareness and research were collected throughout the contest, and all donators had the opportunity to take a penalty stroke against the Seahawk goalkeepers following the contest. "We would like to thank all of our fans for their support today and donations towards the 'Play 4 the Cure,'" said Eldridge. "We had a great turnout for our penalty stroke contest following the game from parents, grandparents, friends and alum participating."

The Seahawks return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Wesleyan (Conn.) for a 7 p.m. contest. The AMCats host Lasell Wednesday at 4 p.m.