Western Connecticut Clips Fitchburg State, 3-1

Holewa collects eight saves in Falcons LEC setback

DANBURY, Conn. (October 13, 2012) – Junior Shelly Davies tallied the game-winning marker in the 49th minute of play as Western Connecticut State University defeated Fitchburg State, 2-1 in Little East Conference field hockey action this afternoon.

Western Connecticut State opened up an early lead, scoring just 3:28 into the first half as senior Victoria Vitale (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) notched her seventh goal of the season off an assist from senior Deanna Mastrocola (Goshen, Conn./Wamogo Regional) for the 1-0 margin.

Fitchburg State evened the score (1-1) in the 14th minute of action when freshman Erin Morrissey (Hubbardston, Mass./Quabbin Regional) deflected a shot off the stick off senior Jamie Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) into the back of the cage.

In the second stanza, the Colonials broke a 1-1 deadlock at the 48:35 mark as Davies connected for her first score of the season. The junior forward drove the ball inside the arc, slipped past a defender and tucked the ball inside the right post for the 2-1 advantage. Before Mastrocola tacked on an insurance goal (3-1) with just under six minutes remaining in regulation to secure the victory for the hosts.

Throughout the match, Western Connecticut State out shot Fitchburg State 14-9, while holding a slim 6-5 advantage in penalty corners.  In the cage sophomore Lucy Holewa (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) made eight stops for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while junior Courtney Hearn (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) registered six saves for Western Connecticut State..

Fitchburg State (5-8, 2-6 LEC) will be back in action on Wednesday as it hosts UMass Dartmouth at 7 p.m. Western Connecticut State (5-8, 3-5 LEC) will host Eastern Connecticut State on Wednesday for a match starting at 7 p.m.