Fitchburg State and Worcester State Advance to the MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament Semifinals
Fitchburg State and Worcester State advance to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament semifinals after winning their respective quarterfinal games on Tuesday.
Fitchburg State and Worcester State advance to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament semifinals after winning their respective quarterfinal games on Tuesday.
Worcester State 16, Framingham State 13 Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's Mackenzie Little (Marlboro, Mass.) and Jackie Connors (Ashland, Mass.) put a combined 10 points on the scoreboard to assist in the Lancers' 16-13 win over the No. 5 seeded Framingham State in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) quarterfinals on Tuesday (May 3) at John. F. Coughlin Filed.
Worcester State's Little put the Lancers on the scoreboard first with a free position shot just two minutes into the game. Connors followed with an unassisted goal to give the Lancers a two-point gain.
Framingham State's Morghan Cassella (Lowell, Mass.) was the first to score for the Rams when she cut the Blue and Gold's lead in half with 21:12 remaining in the half. Worcester State then responded with three unanswered goals to give the Lancers a fuller advantage.
The Lancers and Rams went back-to-back with goals to keep the gap at three, though the Rams ended the half with two goals of their own when Kimberly Foley(Mansfield, Mass.) netted one and then Claryssa Cunnif (Framingham, Mass.) snuck another past Worcester's goaltender.
Worcester State started the scoring in the second half when Little scored her third goal of the game. Moments later Framingham State tied the game up for the first time when Shae Riley (Fairhaven, Mass.) and Kristen Hoggins (Harvard, Mass.) fired two successive into the net. The teams went one-on-one to keep the score tied, but Worcester never allotted Framingham to take the lead.
With 17 minutes remaining in the game, Worcester State went on a 5-0 run to put the game in their hands. From then on, Framingham State was not able to come within less than three throughout the remainder of the game.
Little totaled six goals and one assist, while Connors tallied four goals and three assists. Alexis Vecchiarelli (Agawam, Mass.) and Amanda Pruyn (Tyngsboro, Mass.) each added two goals while Kaila Chase (Northbridge, Mass.) and Alaina Martin (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) chipped in one apiece.
Leading the Rams was Casella with five points (four goals and one assist) and Foley with four of her own. Fredericks logged two goals while Riley, Cunnif, and Hoggins each marked one goal.
Worcester State's Krissy Pessa (Wapole, Mass.) earned her ninth win of the season in a seven save performance, while Indigo Fox Tree-McGrath (Bedford, Mass.) suffered the loss in a 15 save game.
The Lancers will move onto the MASCAC semifinals on Thursday (May 5) when they will travel to the No. 1 seeded, Westfield State.
Salem State opened the scoring as junior Carolyn Woodin found the back of the net for her 20th marker on the season before the Falcons responded with a pair of tallies from junior Ali Laferriere and classmate Andrea Comeau for the 2-1 advantage.
The Vikings knotted the score at 2-2 when sophomore Courtney Smith notched her team-leading 40th goal on the year but the Green and Gold closed out the half, scoring the next three goals on scores by Laferriere, senior Brianna Dunn and sophomore Jaimee Lutz to make the score 5-2 going into the intermission.
Following the break, the two teams traded scores as Laferriere struck for her third marker of the contest for the Falcons, while senior Amanda Nihanscored for Salem State (7-3). Fitchburg State proceeded to go on a 6-0 run over the next eight minutes with Laferriere scoring a pair, while Comeau, Lutz, junior Kayla Panek and sophomore Corinne DeSimone all added one each for the Falcons before newcomer Bridget Lawless capped the scoring for the Vikings with her eighth tally of the 2016 campaign, resulting in the 12-4 final.
Laferriere paced the Falcons offense, registering a game-best six points on five markers and one helper as well as two draw controls, while Dunn and Comeau combined for six points on three goals and three assists to go along with five ground balls and two caused turnovers.
For Salem State, Nihan posted one point on one goal with six ground balls and one caused turnover, while Woodin, Smith and Lawless added one score each for the Vikings.
Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 29-23 advantage in shots, while also holding a 38-30 margin in ground balls. In between the net, senior Liz Darrigo stopped nine shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while senior JennToussaint was stellar in goal for Salem State, making 13 saves in 60 minutes of work.
Fitchburg State (14-4, 6-1 MASCAC) advances to the semifinal round of the 2016 MASCAC women's lacrosse tournament and will travel to the second-seeded Bears of Bridgewater State on Thursday for a 6 p.m. start. Salem State (7-9, 2-5 MASCAC) concludes its 2016 season this evening.
Courtesy of Worcester State and Fitchburg State Sports Information