NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior Marisa Ayotte (Feeding Hills, Mass.) scored four goals to lead the New England College field hockey team to a 6-1 win over Salve Regina University in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) action Saturday afternoon at the Lawrence Avenue Field.

Senior Samantha Escobar (Rummey, N.H.) scored twice for the Pilgrims, who improved to 3-5 (2-0 TCCC) on the season and 17-7 all-time against the Seahawks (0-8, 0-3 TCCC).

Escobar opened the scoring at 4:29 when she converted a pass from junior Katherine Rich (Westborough, Mass.) to put NEC in front 1-0. Ayotte's first of the afternoon and seventh of the season at 9:09 doubled the Pilgrims lead. Salve Regina sophomore Sarah Bambery (Fairport, N.Y.) cut the deficit in half when she potted her second goal of the season at 13:24. The Seahawks outshot the Pilgrims 9-5 in the first half but trailed, 2-1.

In the second half, Ayotte struck at 39:21 and 44:54 made to make it 4-0, and goals by Escobar at 49:28 and another by Ayotte at 59:56 capped the scoring and made the final score 6-1.

The Pilgrims held a slim 16-14 edge in shots and a 13-10 edge in penalty corners. Junior Jesse Kilcullen (North Salem, N.Y.) made two saves to earn the win while junior Natalie Balletta (Leominster, Mass.) stopped seven shots for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks return to action on Tuesday when they host Daniel Webster at 4 p.m. The Pilgrims host Colby College Sunday at 2 p.m.