Falcons Soar Past Owls In LEC Action

Kerr registers pair of goals for Green and Gold 

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University Field Hockey team defeated the Owls of Westfield State University, 6-1 this evening in Little East Conference (LEC) action from Elliot Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 6, Westfield State 1

Records: Fitchburg State (5-5, 3-2 LEC) | Westfield State (5-6, 2-3 LEC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring just 1:56 into the first quarter when freshman Lena Kassel (Stuttgart, Germany) settled a feed from senior Sarah Craig (Winchendon, Mass.) off a penalty corner and deposited a shot inside the far post for her team-leading 17th marker on the season for the 1-0 edge.

The Falcons quickly doubled their advantage (2-0) roughly one minute later as senior Grace Kerr (Holliston, Mass.) fired a shot into the right side of the cage for her fourth tally of the 2022 campaign off an assist from newcomer Sophia Yates (Woodstock, Vt.).

The Green and Gold pushed the lead 3-0 in the seventh minute of action with sophomore Alexis Raymond (Tewksbury, Mass.) collected her own rebound in front of the net and struck for her first marker on the year.

Fitchburg State extended the margin with just under five minutes remaining in half when Kerr settled a rebounded shot off the stick of Kassel and buried a shot into the lower left corner for her second goal of the contest to make the score 4-0.

Following the intermission, Westfield State threatened as freshman Erin Lane (Canton, Mass.) put a shot on frame, but junior Sydney Alto (Chelmsford, Mass.) cleared the ball off the goal line for the defensive save to preserve the 4-0 margin.

Fitchburg State secured the victory in the 49th minute of play with Yates receiving a pass from Kassel, who proceeded to tip home a shot for her fourth goal on the 2022 season. The Owls cut into the deficit at the 55:47 mark with newcomer Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) finding the back of the cage for third of the season, resulting in the 6-1 final.

Inside the Numbers

This evening's contest marked the 43rd meeting between the two squads in the sport of field hockey with the Falcons 17-26 all-time when taking on the Owls

Westfield State finished with a 26-13 advantage in shots, while also holding a 14-6 edge in penalty corners

Junior Jenna Morse (Leominster, Mass.) made 21 saves for the Falcons

Junior Lydia Sullivan (Amherst, Mass.) stopped three shots for the Owls

 Alto and freshman Carley McCaie (Templeton, Mass.) made one defensive save each for the Green and Gold

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they travel to Eastern Connecticut State to take on the Warriors for an LEC matchup, starting at 12:00 PM. Owls will host the Panthers of Plymouth State on the same date at 12:00 PM.