#4 Fitchburg State Edges #5 Salem State, 16-15 (OT)

Falcons clinch first playoff victory in program history; advance to semifinal round at BSU

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 30, 2013) – Fourth-seeded Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team registered three goals over the course of a six minute overtime to knock off fifth-seeded Salem State University in opening round action of the 2013 MASCAC women's lacrosse tournament.

With the victory, Fitchburg State (6-11, 3-3 MASCAC) advances to the semifinal round of the 2013 MASCAC tournament to face top-seeded Bridgewater State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Salem State concludes the 2013 season with an overall record of 4-10 and a 1-5 mark in the MASCAC.

Fitchburg State held a two goal advantage after one period play (6-4) as it opened the contest with three consecutive goals from junior Chelsea Roberts (Newburyport, Mass.), senior Jessica Bartlett (Marlborough, Mass.) and Kristin Dooley (Salem, Mass.). The Vikings battled back, using a nine goal second half to knot the score at 13-13 and force a pair of three minute overtimes.

In the extra frames, the Falcons struck first as sophomore Lindsay White (Hanover, Mass.) found the back of the net with a feed from Markie Apple (Pittsfield, Mass.) at the 2:39 mark. A goal from Rachel Clasby (Northbridge, Mass.) knotted the contest at 14-14, but back-to-back scores from Apple and Roberts gave Fitchburg State a two-goal advantage heading into the final three minutes of play.

Over the final extra frame, Fitchburg State turned to its possession style offense and kept the ball away from Salem for much of the period. A Bartlett target midway through the period nearly clinched the contest for the Falcons, but her attempt nipped the post to keep the Vikings deficit to only two.

In transition, Salem State inched closer as Kelsey Russell (Arlington, Mass.) buried a free-position shot with just 0:29 left, but Fitchburg State capitalized on the draw to maintain the possession advantage. A turnover in the closing seconds gave the Vikings one last attempt at the equalizer, but Leslie Jaffie (Hicksville, N.Y.) came up big with a groundball at midfield to end any comeback hope.

Roberts led the Fitchburg State offense, posting five points with four goals and one assist, while Bartlett added five points as well with a trio of scores and a pair of helpers. Apple was also solid with three goals and one dish.

The Vikings received a strong offensive output from senior Kristen Cahoon (Reading, Mass.) who notched a game-high five goals, while classmate Bridgett Dullea (Peabody, Mass.) added a game-best six points with three scores and three helpers.

For the game, Fitchburg State out-shot Salem 39-24 while dominating the draw with a 24-11 advantage. Freshman Elizabeth Darrigo (Billerca, Mass.) lifted the Falcons to their first playoff victory in program history with seven saves, while freshman Alex Varoutsos (Woburn, Mass.) stopped 18 shots for the visitors.