Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Field Hockey team returned to a windy John F. Coughlin Field of the Worcester State University campus tonight to kick off the first ever MASCAC Field Hockey game. Both Westfield and Worcester State were previously members of the Little East Conference, with this season being the inaugural season of the MASCAC sponsoring field hockey. Both teams were coming off of recent losses and were hoping to add a win to the column.
FINAL SCORE: LANCERS 4 - OWLS 0
The first quarter was a complete midfield battle as neither team was able to come up with a shot until late in the quarters. The end of the quarter is where things really started to get interesting as the Lancers, with no time on the clock, recorded four consecutive corners to close out the quarter. With the final corner, the Lancers sophomore Allison Keenan (Malbourgh,Mass.) with an assist from senior Zoe Anthasopoulos (Hopedale,Mass.) tapped in the first goal of the game to end the period with the Lancers up 1-0.
The second quarter saw the Lancer keeping their intensity up as they continued to threaten the Owls backfield. Another goal from Athanasopoulos with an assist from junior Madison Avilla (Westport,Mass.) that sailed across the circle, put the Lancers up 2-0. The Owls attempted to battle their way back into the action but the Lancers continued their offensive onslaught with 13 shots in the second and a third goal, this time by sophomore Charlotte McGregor (Bellingham,Mass.) off another set piece play, that saw the initial shot knocked away on to the McGregor's stick, would see the Lancers end the half up 3-0.
The Owls took over in the third quarter, setting the pace up and down the field grabbing five corners and nine shots, but were ultimately unable to sneak one past junior Madison Ferrara (Somerset, MA) to break the shutout.
The game again evened out in the fourth as the Lancers looked to put the game away, a late corner by the Owls looked to be just what was needed for them to find their first goal of the game, but a high shot the stick of the attack quickly saw the corner called dead. As the final quarter ticked away, junior Natalya Morin (Barre,Mass.) made a recovery off a loose ball, taking a shot on cage while falling to the ground to knock in the Lancers fourth goal of the game. The win for Worcester State is head coach Sophia Monopoli 's first collegiate head coaching win.
Ferrara ended the night with six saves in the shutout, while the Owls Emma Gniadek knocked away 10 attempts. Senior Grace Adams (Leominster, MA) led the team with 10 shots on the came, causing a number of rebound opportunities that were quickly converted into goals for Worcester.
Worcester State (1-3, 1-0) is back in action on September 19th when they host Wheaton at 7pm. Westfield (2-4, 0-1) is next in action when they host Keene State on the 19th at 7pm.