WORCESTER, Mass. – After defeating the Bridgewater State University Bears for the first time in years during the regular season, the No. 2 seed Worcester State University Lancers were upset by the No. 7 Bears in a 3-1 Little East Conference (LEC) field hockey tournament quarterfinal game Saturday (Oct. 29) evening at John F. Coughlin Memorial Field.
Worcester State got on the board first in the 19th minute when Worcester State's Olivia Antonelli (Westford, Mass.) connected with Hayley D'Auteuil (Sutton, Mass.) in front of the goal for the 1-0 advantage.
However, Bridgewater State knotted the score in the 30th minute when Hayley Grimes (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) beat her defender and placed the ball past Worcester's net minder, Kathryn Salemme (Acton, Mass.), for the 1-1 score going into the intermission.
Bridgewater State pulled away with the lead for the win in the second half as they scored two goals and held the Lancers to nil.
The Bears' Samantha Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) made a run for it in the 42nd minute when she carried the ball from midfield into scoring territory, tipped the ball off to teammate Brittany Cullinane (Lunenburg, Mass.) who then served it back for her to fire into the cage for their first lead of the game.
Cullinane registered the final goal of the matchup as she found herself on the left side of the scoring zone, stuttered with the ball, and then flicked the ball past Salemme for the 3-1 expansion. The Lancers battled back and saw five shots on goal in the remaining five minutes, but were unable to slide one past Bridgewater's goalie, Allison Chappell (Raynham, Mass.) who came away with nine saves on the night.
Chappell came away with her 11th win of the season, while Salemme suffered the loss and stopped 12 of the 15 shots on net.
The Bears outshot the Lancers 18-14 throughout the entirety of the game, and also held a heavy 12-6 margin in penalty corners.
The Lancers conclude their regular season with a 13-6 overall record, while the Bears improve to 11-6 overall and advance to the LEC semifinals which will be held on Wednesday (Nov. 2).