Falcons Nipped By Bears, 14-10

Alves places Falcons with three goals in MASCAC setback

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University women's lacrosse team dropped a tough 14-10 decision to the Bears of Bridgewater State this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Elliot Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 10, Bridgewater State 14

Records: Fitchburg State (7-6, 2-3 MASCAC) | Bridgewater State (10-5, 4-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Bridgewater State took an early 4-0 lead as pair of goals from junior Elizabeth Etheridge (Marshfield, Mass.), while senior Gabby Reinold (Braintree, Mass.) and sophomore Victoria McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) added on score each.

Fitchburg State battled back to knot the score (4-4) on markers from senior Carrie Long (Foxboro, Mass.), sophomore Nicole Kopacz (Tewksbury, Mass.), classmate Sarah Napolitano (Peabody, Mass.) and freshman Madison Alves (Braintree, Mass.) before the Bears to a 7-4 margin into the break with Reinold and Etheridge finding the back of net.

Following the intermission, the Falcons cut the deficit to 7-5 on Alves's second tally of the contest, but the Bears answered back as Etheridge and Reinold combined for three scores to take a 12-7 advantage.

The Green and Gold continued to battle though late in the frame with junior Anna Gagnon-Burch (Putney, Vt.), Napolitano and sophomore Tracy Long (Georgetown, Mass.) connecting on three consecutive goals, but Bridgewater State would hold on for the 14-10 victory.

Inside the Numbers

18th meeting between the two schools in lacrosse with the Falcons 1-17 all-time when taking on the Bears.

Bridgewater State has won the last six contests against Fitchburg State, including a 7-6 decision in the last meeting in semifinal round action of the 2017 MASCAC women's lacrosse post-season tournament as sophomore Tracy Long the way for the Green and Gold with three goals.

Prior to the contest, the Fitchburg State University women's lacrosse team honored four seniors playing in their final regular season. The seniors are # 1 Jaimee Lutz, #2 Anna Gagnon-Burch, #6 Carrie Long and #19 Lia Crutchfield.

Alves paced the Falcons offense, finishing with a team-best three goals and one draw control, while C. Long added to the mix with two scores, two ground balls, four draw controls and six caused turnovers.

For the Bears, Etheridge registered a game-leading six goals as well as two ground balls, two draw controls and one caused turnover, while McDonough chipped in with six points on two markers and four assists to go along with four draw controls..

In between the pipes, junior Marguerite Belcher (Quincy, Mas.) stopped eight shots for Fitchburg State in the complete game effort, while sophomore Hayley Barner (Westwood, Mass.) made 14 saves for Bridgewater State in 60 minutes of work.

Up Next

Falcons travel to Johnson and Wales on Monday to take on the Wildcats for a non-conference bout, starting at 4:00 PM. Bears will host the Vikings of Salem State on Wednesday for a MASCAC tilt at 7:00 PM.