Worcester, MA --- Junior classmates Julie O'Rourke (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian) and Krissy Kenney (Rehoboth, MA) both potted first half markers as they helped lift Worcester State to a 2-0 victory over Westfield State in Little East Conference field hockey action this evening at Coughlin Field.
With the win the Lancers improve to 9-6 while evening out to 4-4 in the LEC while the Owls fall to 6-7 and 3-5 against conference opponents.
O'Rourke netted her team-best 10th marker of the season when she received a solid cross on the left side of the field by sophomore Meghan Pini (Natick, MA). O'Rourke then dribbled around a defender and finished to the bottom left corner of the net for the early 1-0 edge just 5:48 into the contest.
Kenney registered some insurance to take the pressure off the defense on a penalty corner with four seconds left in the opening stanza. Senior Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, MA) took the insertion on the right side of the net and dished it to Kenney who notched her sixth of the campaign.
In the second stanza, O'Rourke had a chance to record her second of the contest, but her rocket was denied by sophomore net minder Megan Fountaine (Scituate, MA).
The Lancer defense limited their opponents to just three shots on goal which included a bid by freshman Rachel Bunce (East Dennis, MA) four minutes after O'Rourke's tally early on.
With time winding down in the second, sophomore Janelle Juskiewicz (Orange, MA) placed a pair of attempts to test freshman keeper Kathryn Salemme (Boxboro, MA), but both of her shots were kicked out of harm's way to preserve the shutout.
In addition to her three saves, Salemme blanked her fourth opponent of 2014. Sophomore Alanah Melanson (Chelmsford, MA) saw her record drop to 3-2 as she recorded two stops in the opening half before being relieved by Fountaine who also had two saves in 35 scoreless minutes.
The Blue and Gold ended leading in shots (12-3) and penalty corners (10-2).
Both squads will continue LEC play on Tuesday evening. Worcester State plays host to Southern Maine at 7 PM on "Senior Day" while Westfield State takes the trek to Keene State in a 6 o'clock matchup.
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