Bridgewater State Stops Fitchburg State, 20-11

Bears snap Falcons three-game winning streak with key conference victory

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 24, 2010) – The Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team snapped its three-game, winning streak this afternoon, falling to Bridgewater State College, 20-11 in New England Women’s Lacrosse Alliance action at Elliot Field.

Senior Katie DeMaio (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) and Shannon Manning (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) led Bridgewater State to its fifth consecutive victory after combing for 17 points throughout the contest. DeMaio led all scorers with a game-high nine points on six goals and three assists, while Manning notched eight points with three scores and five dishes. Junior Jenny Jones (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) was also solid on the Bears attack, rounding out the top three threats with six points on five markers and a helper.

The Bears broke open a tight, two-goal affair (5-3) early in the second half, touching for 15 scores over the final 30 minutes of play. Bridgewater started the second-half on the offensive end, totaling three of their 15 markers in the opening five minutes. Jones sparked the Bridgewater pursuit with a pair of scores just four minutes in, before White upped the Bears lead to five (8-3) with a tally at the 24:45 mark.

The Falcons answered immediately, cutting the Bridgewater lead to only four (9-5) as sophomore Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) collected back-to-back goals in a span of 19 seconds. The Bears held off the Fitchburg State comeback however, using a pair of three-goal rallies over the next ten minutes of play to post a commanding 14-6 advantage. Bridgewater quickly grabbed a six goal lead (12-6) with scores by Jones, DeMaio and Patricia Maloney (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) while silencing the Falcons attack moments later with a trio of scores by Manning and DeMaio.

The loss snapped Fitchburg State’s three-game unbeaten streak as freshman goaltender Abbie Brown (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) suffered her first setback in four contests. The rookie net-minder totaled six saves over 51 minutes play, while Bears’ goalie, Meghan Griffin (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) played sensational with 17 stops in her complete game effort.

Bridgewater State maintained a slim 36-33 shot margin throughout the contest while the Falcons tallied a 28-22 advantage in groundballs to keep the game tight. Burns led all Falcon scorers with a team-best five points on five goals, while senior Emily Swan (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) added one goal and three assists.

Fitchburg State (8-6, 2-3 NEWLA) will be back in action on Thursday as it hosts Framingham State at 7 p.m. Bridgewater State (10-4, 4-1 NEWLA) will host Westfield State on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

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Bridgewater State 20, Fitchburg State 11