Fitchburg State Soars Past MCLA, 15-4

Comeau and Panek register four points each to lead Falcons over Trailblazers

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The Fitchburg State Women's Lacrosse team was in action this afternoon, defeating the Trailblazers of MCLA, 15-4 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Zavattaro Athletic Complex.

Fitchburg State raced out to an early 6-0 lead as senior Andrea Comeau collected three of her game-best four tallies, while classmate Kayla Panek, junior Carrie Long and freshman Tracy Long added one goal each.

Following a marker from sophomore Beatrice Lechler (6-1), the Green and Gold extended its margin on scored by Comeau, Panek and senior Ali Laferriere to make the score 9-1 after 30 minutes of play.

In the second half, the Falcons opened the frame on a 6-0 run with freshman Rebecca Fisher connecting on her first two collegiate goals, while T. Long, Laferriere, sophomore Molly Richard and junior Lia Crutchfield also found the back of the net for the 15-1 advantage.

The Trailblazers capped the scoring as Lechler picked up her second goal on the afternoon before junior Mackenzie Cutler struck for back-to-back tallies, resulting in the 15-4 final.

Fitchburg State was led by T. Long with a game-leading five points on two markers and three assists to go along with two ground balls and one caused turnover , while Comeau added four points on four scores as well as three ground balls and one caused turnover.

C. Long was also solid for the Green and Gold, finishing with one goal, two ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers. With those two ground balls and two caused turnovers, C. Long currently ranks fifth in nation in ground balls per contest (5.44) and first in caused turnovers per game (4.56).

For MCLA, Cutler totaled two points on two goals with five ground balls and two draws controls, while Lechler chipped in with a pair of markers on four shots for the Trailblazers.

Throughout the game, Fitchburg State held a 27-19 edge in shots, while also holding a 23-18 advantage in ground balls. In between the pipes, sophomore Marguerite Belcher stopped six shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while the duo of sophomore Zoe Elwell and freshman Julia Coughlin combined to make six saves for the Trailblazers in the setback.

Fitchburg State (5-5,1-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Tuesday as it travels to Colby-Sawyer to take on the Chargers for a contest starting at 4 p.m. MCLA (3-5, 0-2 MASCAC) will visit Southern Vermont College on Monday at 4 p.m.