Westfield State Blanks Fitchburg State, 4-0

Valentin collects 13 stops for the Falcons

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 8, 2013) – Senior forward Sarah Pliszka (Enfield, Conn.) registered three points on one goal and one assist as the Westfield State field hockey team defeated Fitchburg State, 4-0 in Little East Conference (LEC) action this evening at Elliot Field.

Following a scoreless first half, Westfield State finally broke the 0-0 deadlock in the 45th minute of play when freshman forward Holly Brouillette (Burlington, Mass.) received a feed from Pliszka and tucked the ball inside the far post for her team leading ninth tally of the season for the 1-0 margin.

The Owls doubled their lead at the 49:14 mark as Pliszka notched her fourth marker of the year off an assist from junior Kelsey Carpenter (Barre, Mass.) and deposited the ball into the back of the cage for the 2-0 advantage.

The visitors upped their lead (3-0) with just under 12 minutes remaining in the match as newcomer Meg Doherty (Mansfield, Mass.) one timed a shot inside the right post for her third score of the season off a feed from senior Courtney Araujo (Somerset, Mass.), before senior Danielle Grenon (Somerset, Mass.) closed out the game's scoring for the Owls with her second tally of the season at the 67:15 mark, resulting in the 4-0 final.

In the first frame, Westfield State nearly grabbed the lead at the 17:31 mark as junior forward Kelly Kenney (Suffield, Conn.) fired a shot from the top of the circle that appeared to be heading into the cage but Falcon back Kelly Finn (Fitchburg, Mass.) cleared the ball away at the last second to keep the score 0-0.

Fitchburg State's best opportunity of the stanza came in the 24th minute of play when senior midfielder Rebecca Bush (Littleton, Mass.) blasted a shot that Owls keeper Megan Fountaine (Scituate, Mass.) turned aside to preserve the 0-0 stalemate going into the break.

 Throughout the contest, Westfield State out shot Fitchburg State 22-11, while also holding a 12-0 margin in penalty corners. In the cage, sophomore Judith Valentin (Brockton, Mass.) posted 13 saves in the complete game effort for the Falcons, while Fountaine made five stops en-route to her first collegiate shutout for the Owls.

Fitchburg State (4-7, 0-6 LEC) will be back in action on Saturday as it travels to Plymouth State for a contest starting at 12 p.m. Westfield State (5-5, 2-4 LEC) will visit Framingham State University on Saturday at 11 a.m.