Westfield State Swoops Past Fitchburg State, 5-3
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (2-4; 5-5) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
|
Westfield St. (3-3; 6-4) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Kelley collects five points in Falcons LEC setback to Owls
WESTFIELD, Mass. (October 2, 2012) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team traveled to conference foe Westfield State University this evening, falling 5-3 in Little East Conference action at Alumni Field.
Senior Jamie Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) led the Fitchburg State attack, totaling five points on the evening with two goals and one assist, while junior Rebecca Bush (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) added two points with one score. Junior Sarah Pliszka (Enfield, Conn./Enfield) led the Westfield State offense, posting a game-high seven points with three markers and one dish.
Pliszka got the Owls off and running early in the first half, connecting for back-to-back markers throughout the first period as Westfield State held a 2-0 lead at the break. Pliszka notched her first goal of the contest at the 9:57 mark before collecting her second score of the game with a feed from Taylor Chase (Holden, Mass./Wachusett Regional).
The Falcons quickly knotted the score early in the second half as Kelley recorded a pair of her own consecutive scores, including an unassisted tally at the 38:22 mark and a penalty stroke conversion just four minutes later.
Fitchburg State grabbed its first lead of the contest midway through the period as Bush teamed up with line mate Jamie Kelley and deposited her shot for the 3-2 advantage. But, the Falcon lead was short lived however as Westfield State rallied off three consecutive scores to clinch the 5-3 victory. Sophomore Kelly Kenney (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) and Chase hit for back-to-back goals just 1:07 apart before Pliszka converted her hat-trick with a score in the 60th minute.
Throughout the contest, Westfield State controlled the offensive tempo, holding an 18-8 advantage in targets, including 12 shots in the second half. Sophomore Lucy Holewa (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) worked the first 35 minutes for the Falcons, posting two saves with two goals allowed, while Judith Valentin (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) added four stops in her second half effort.
Fitchburg State (5-5, 2-4 LEC) will be back in action on Saturday as it hosts Plymouth State at 10 a.m. Westfield State (6-4, 3-3 LEC) will host Framingham State on Saturday at 12 p.m.