Falcons Upended By Lancers, 8-4

C. Long and Lutz combined for two goals, ten ground balls and ten caused turnovers

Worcester, Mass. – The fifth seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State University dropped an 8-4 decision to the fourth seeded Lancers of Worcester State in opening round action of the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse post-season tournament this evening at Coughlin Stadium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 4, Worcester State 8

Records: Fitchburg State (8-9, 3-4 MASCAC) | Worcester State (11-7, 4-3 MASCAC) 

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring as senior Jaimee Lutz (Foxboro, Mass.) found the back of the net before Worcester Sate grabbed a 3-1 advantage on makers from sophomore Kaylee Krajewski (Holyoke, Mass.), freshman Abby Magnuson (Ellington, Conn.) and senior Aliexis Vecchiarelli (Agawam, Mass.).

Fitchburg cut the deficit to one going into the break with sophomore Tracy Long (Georgetown, Mass.) and junior Anna Gagnon-Burch (Putney, Vt.) connecting on tallies to make the score 4-3 after 30 minutes of play.

Following the intermission, Worcester State extended its margin (8-3) as freshman Rachel Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.), senior Mackenzie Little (Marlboro, Mass.) newcomer Coley Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) and Vecchiarelli netted scores. Fitchburg State answered back though when senior Carrie Long (Foxboro, Mass.) buried a shot into the back of the net off a free-position shot, but that as close as the Falcons would get as the Lancers held on for the 8-4 final.

Inside the Numbers

11th meeting between the two schools in lacrosse with the Falcons 5-6 all-time when taking on the Lancers.

Fitchburg State has won the two of the last three contests with Worcester State. With the Lancers coming away with a 9-7 victory in the last meeting earlier this season at Elliot Field. Sophomore Sarah Napolitano paced the Falcons with a team-best three points on two goals and one assist as well as three ground balls.

C. Long paced the Falcons with one goal, five ground balls, five draw controls and seven caused turnovers, while Lutz added one score, five ground balls and three caused turnovers.

For the Lancers, Vecchiarelli finished with a game best five points on three goals and two assists as well as one ground balls, while Magnuson chipped in with two goals, one ground ball and one caused turnover.

In goal, junior Marguerite Belcher (Quincy, Mass.) turned aside ten shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while freshman Chloe O;Brien (Sturbridge, Mass.) made six saves in 60 minutes of work.

Up Next

Falcons conclude their 2018 season with an overall record of 8-9 and a 3-4 mark in MASCAC play.  Lancers advance to the semifinal round of the MASCAC Women's Lacrosse post-season tournament as travels to Westfield State to take on the top seeded Owls on Thursday for a contest starting at 7:00 PM.