Worcester State 2, Western Connecticut 1
Worcester, MA --- Senior classmates Ginelle Blais (Marlboro, MA) and Kim Cosenza (Fitchburg, MA) each had a senior day to remember as they each scored both of Worcester State goals to help pace the Lancers, 2-1, over Western Connecticut in Little East Conference field hockey action this evening at Coughlin Stadium.
WSC improves its record to 10-6 and 5-3 in conference play while the Colonials fall to 2-13 and 1-8 in the LEC.
Cosenza notched the first goal of the game at 8:31 to give the Worcester the 1-0 lead when she scored on a penalty corner cross from Blais. The Lancers added another goal at the beginning of the second half when sophomore Angela Johnson (Ashby, MA) found Blais, who netted her fourth goal of the season at 38:22.
Western Connecticut cut into the lead 10 minutes later when freshman Samantha Marolda (Goshen, CT) hit a pass to junior Meredith Stuart (Washington, CT) for her team-leading sixth marker of the year.
After the Colonials scored, both defenses did not allow either team to get another shot off for another 20 minutes. Western Connecticut tried to rally in the games waning minutes with two penalty corners and five shots, but senior keeper Erin MacDonald (Dedham, MA) and the Worcester State defense preserved the one-goal difference to earn the hard-fought victory.
Western Connecticut held a 13-11 edge in shots and a 10-3 advantage in penalty corners, which included seven in the second stanza.
MacDonald stopped seven of the eight shots she faced in the cage while her counterpart, Laura Demico (New Milford, CT), recorded three saves on the evening.
Worcester State will end its regular season with a three game Little East Conference road swing starting with Plymouth State on Saturday at 12:30. Western Connecticut will also play on Saturday when they will host Salem State at 4 PM.