Worcester State Defeats Fitchburg State, 7-2

Hoffman and Stearns collect one goal apiece for the Falcons

WORCESTER, Mass. (October 26, 2013) – Freshman forward Katelyn Carmody (Shelburne, Mass.) totaled seven points on three scores and one assist as Worcester State defeated Fitchburg State, 7-2 in Little East Conference (LEC) action at Coughlin Field this morning.

Worcester State grabbed the lead midway through the first half as freshman forward Meghan Pini (Natick, Mass.) fired a shot from the top of the circle into the back of the cage for her fourth marker of the season off an assist from sophomore Julie O'Rourke (Attleboro, Mass.) for the 1-0 advantage.

The Lancers quickly doubled their lead (2-0) less than four minutes later when junior midfielder Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, Mass.) blasted a shot inside the near post for her team-leading 11th tally of the season at the 22:37 mark.

The hosts upped their margin in the 26th minute of play as Carmody collected her sixth score of the season before sophomore Megan Ripke (Agawam, Mass.) capped the first half scoring with her second goal on the season less than two minutes later to take a 4-0 lead into intermission.

Following the break, Fitchburg State broke its scoring silence at the 42:19 mark when freshman forward Madeline Hoffman (Mansfield, Mass.) gathered a rebound off the stick of senior Rebecca Bush (Littleton, Mass.) and fired a point blank shot into the cage to cut the deficit to 4-1.

The Lancers took a 5-1 lead in the 49th minute of action as Carmody converted a penalty stroke for her second tally of the match. The Falcons answered at the 58:50 mark when freshman forward Stephanie Stearns (Mystic, Conn.) collected a loose ball, streaked down the left sideline and tucked the ball inside the left the post for her fifth tally of season to make the score 6-2.

Worcester State sealed its tenth victory of the year in the 64th minute as Carmody completed the hat trick with her third score of the contest as she controlled her own rebound and slipped the ball into the back of the cage, resulting in the 7-2 final.

Throughout the match, Worcester State controlled the offensive play, outshooting Fitchburg State, 19-8, while also holding an 8-3 margin in penalty corners. In goal, sophomore Judith Valentin (Brockton, Mass.) and junior Lucy Holewa (Londonderry, N.H) combined to make ten saves for the Falcons, while senior Allison Romano (E. Bridgewater) made three stops in the complete game effort for the Lancers.

Fitchburg State (5-10, 1-9 LEC) will be back in action on Wednesday at it hosts the Engineers of WPI at 5 p.m. Worcester State (10-7, 3-7 LEC) will travel to Eastern Connecticut State next Saturday at 2 p.m.