Westfield State and Worcester State are set to meet on Sunday in the MASCAC Women's Soccer Championship after winning their semifinal contests on Friday night.

3 Westfield State 1, #3 Bridgewater State 1  6-5 PK Westfield        Box Score

#2 seed Westfield State University advanced to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's soccer championship game on penalty kicks after forging a 1-1 tie with third-seeded Bridgewater State University in the semifinal round of the 2017 MASCAC Tournament on Friday afternoon at Alumni Field.

Westfield State freshman Morgan Remington(Enfield, Conn.) scored the decisive penalty kick with a blast to the lower right corner of the net, after the teams had matched five-for-five on penalty kicks in the first series.

Westfield State junior goalkeeper Natalia Falcone(Sutton, Mass.) came up with a huge save on BSU senior midfielder Nicole Simas'  (Dartmouth, Mass.) penalty kick try to start the second series for Bridgewater.

The two teams have met in the league semifinals in each of the last three years, with Westfield advancing in 2015, and Bridgewater advancing in 2016, with all three of the shootout semifinal games played at Westfield.

The game is recorded as a tie for NCAA purposes, while the Owls advance to the MASCAC title game which will be played on Sunday against the winner of tonight's #1 Worcester State vs. #4 Salem State semifinal.  The championship game will be played at the site of the highest remaining seed.

Westfield State is now 10-5-3 on the season.  Bridgewater State ends the season with an overall record of 12-6-1.

Westfield took a 1-0 lead in the first period as sophomore forward Bella Eduardo (Springfield, Mass.) took a pass from senior midfielder Kenzie Saltmarsh (Westfield, Mass.) and split a pair of BSU defenders before depositing a shot into the right side of the net in the 38th minute.

Bridgewater finally got the equalizing goal in the 85th minute of play, as sophomore midfielder Emma Sanders (Seekonk, Mass.) fired a strong cross from the deep right corner into the box, where sophomore forward Amelia Burke (Plymouth, Mass.) put a foot on it and lifted the ball inside the far post to tie the score at 1-1.

Both teams had chances in the overtimes, with Bridgewater state getting a corner with 1:50 left in the first OT, that ended with Falcone saving junior midfielder Kellsie Mitchell's (Bristol, R.I.) shot.   Eduardo had a prime shot at the end of the second OT that BSU senior netminder Lauren DeSousa (Taunton, Mass.) turned aside.

DeSousa and Falcone each finished with nine saves. Westfield held a 23-13 advantage in total shots, and a 7-5 margin in corner kicks.

1 Worcester State 1, #4 Salem State 0                   Box Score

The first seeded Worcester State University women's soccer team will head to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game, to be held on Sunday in Worcester, after defeating the fourth seeded Salem State Vikings 1-0 in a Friday evening semifinal game.

THE BASICS

November 3, 2017

Coughlin Field

Score: Worcester State 1, Salem State 0

Records: Worcester State (12-4-2) | Salem State (10-8-1)

Worcester State came out strong in the first five minutes of play until Salem State picked up the pace 10 minutes in and saw two shots on goal from Casey McFall (Wilmington, Mass.) and Ashley LeBoeuf (Dracut, Mass.), though, they both were saved by Worcester State's goaltender, Jill Zinkus (Grafton, Mass.). Worcester State was able to capitalize on a Salem State foul in the 25^th minute. The Lancers' Maddie Fong (Norton, Mass.) received a free kick at 26:02 on the right side 20-yards out. Fong sailed the ball perfectly into the air and it dropped just below the crossbar on the upper left side of the net to put Worcester State ahead 1-0. Worcester State then gained momentum and held the advantage throughout the remainder of the second half.

Each team played phenomenal defense in the second half and only allowed a total of five shots on net between both teams in the stanza. Worcester State saw another scoring opportunity on a Fong free kick in the 53^rd minute that found the head of Jenna Martin (Salem, N.H.), though, the ball went inches high of the crossbar. The Lancers saw a few more scoring chances, but were unable to add another goal to the scoreboard. The Vikings saw their best scoring opportunity of the night with just under 10 minutes to go. The Vikings' Emily Boyle (Manchester, N.H.) had a breakaway down the right side of the field and crossed the ball to McFall who made a nice lateral pass to Taylor Capozzi (Lynn, Mass.) who was to the left of the goal. Capozzi fired off two shots, but they both were denied by Worcester State's defense. In the last five minutes, Worcester State maintained possession and closed out the game with a 1-0 semifinal win.

BY THE BOOK

• Fong scored her third goal of the year, and is now second on the team in points with 15 (3 goals, 9 assists).
• Fong led the Lancers' offense with four shots, while three other Lancers tallied three shots on the night.
• The Vikings' attack was guided by McFall and LeBoeuf who had four shots each, and two shots each on net.
• Zinkus earned her fifth consecutive shutout and 10^th total on the season in the 5-save performance.
• Rebecca Sabino (Peabody, Mass.) took the loss in net as she made six stops in the 90-minutes played.
• Worcester State held a 25-13 advantage in shots, and an 8-1 margin in corner kicks.

Releases courtesy of Westfield State and Worcester State Sports Information