Westfield State Outlasts Fitchburg State, 13-7

Laferriere and Panek combine for five points for Falcons in MASCAC setback

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Fitchburg State Women's Lacrosse team was in action this afternoon, dropping a 13-7 decision to the Owls of Westfield State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Alumni Field.

Sophomore Carrie Long led the way for the Falcons with two points on one goal and one assist as well as game-best eight ground balls, one draw control and four caused turnovers, while seniors Ali Laferriere and Kayla Panek combined for five points on four markers and one helper to go along with one ground ball and four draw controls.

For Westfield State, sophomore Alexa Tonelli finished with a game-best four points on four goals, three ground balls, one draw control and four caused turnovers, while junior Stephanie Godek added four points on  two goals and two assists as well as three ground balls, two draw controls and one caused turnover.

Westfield State jumped out to an early 3-1 lead on scores by Godek, sophomore Marissa Nimeskern and Tonelli before the Falcons knotted the score (3-3) on back-to-back tallies from Laferriere and Long.

Fitchburg State grabbed the lead with just under six minutes remaining in the frame when senior Andrea Comeau found the back of the net for her tenth goal on the year, but the Owls answered back minutes later as Nimeskern struck for her second score of the contest to even the score 4-4 after 30 minutes of play.

Following the break, Westfield State regained the lead as sophomore Sydney Lambert, junior Sam Coyle and Toneilli connected on scores (7-4). The Green and Gold answered back on markers from sophomore Anna Gagnon-Burch and Panek to cut the lead to 7-6.

Following a goal by Panek (9-7), Westfield State secured the win, going on a 4-0 run as Tonelli, junior Brooke Williams, Lambert and freshman Sam Donahue found the back of the net, resulting in the 13-7 final.

For the contest, Westfield State held a 33-21 advantage in shots, while also holding a 39-29 margin in ground balls. In goal, sophomore Marguerite Belcher stopped four shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while the duo of sophomore Maria Woodall and senior Alanah Melanson combined to make 12 saves for the Owls. 

Fitchburg State (3-5, 0-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Wednesday as it hosts the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Westfield State (5-3, 1-0 MASCAC) will host the Colonials of Western Connecticut State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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