Centerville, MA --- The Worcester State women's lacrosse team has been chosen as the top seed in this week's Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament and will play #4 Becker on Friday at Coughlin Field with a 7 PM start time.
The rest of the bracket includes second-seeded Curry (9-9) and #3 Rivier (9-8) who will also face off at Worcester in the semifinal round in an earlier 4 PM draw. The winners of the two games on Friday night play for the title at 1 PM on Sunday.
The berth for the Lancers (12-4) marks the sixth time that they have received a bid to the ECACs and the first occasion that they have been slotted as the top seed. The Blue and Gold were ousted from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship this past Saturday by Bridgewater State.
Sophomore Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) leads the charge for Worcester State with the fourth highest point sum in the MACAC (79) and a single-season record of 34 assists as classmate Kaila Chase (Northbridge, MA) is fourth in the conference with 49 goals.
Defensively, Connors leads the club in draw controls (54) followed by freshman Angelina Sutherland (Tyngsboro, MA) who has grabbed 53. Sophomore Katelyn Murphy (Billerica, MA) tops WSU with 52 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers while first-year Lea Robichaud (Holden, MA) is among the best in the MASCAC with a 10.67 goals against average and a .437 save percentage.
Becker (9-7) makes their first-ever appearance in the tournament as they were defeated in the New England Collegiate Conference championship by Regis, 13-9.
The Hawks are paced on the campaign by senior Ashley Mossey (Ballston Lake, NY) who propels the squad with a team-best 53 goals, 57 ground balls and 56 draw controls and she ties for the team lead with 27 forced miscues. Mossey is the Becker's all-time leading career goal scorer.
Junior Tatum Fahs (Foster, RI) has squad highs of 24 assists and 63 points while sophomore Victoria Belcher (Seekonk, MA) chips in with 48 markers. Sophomore Shelby Wicks (Shaftbury, VT) is second in the NECC with a 9.92 GAA and third with a .427 save percentage.
Worcester State has never lost to their former foe from the former New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) in six matchups.
If the Blue and Gold were to play Curry in the championship, it sets the stage for a rematch of last year's ECAC first-round quarterfinal, which saw the Lancers edge the Colonel's, 11-10. WSU also defeated Rivier in the campaign opener for both squads, 11-7 in Nashua, NH.
ECAC Division III New England Women's Lacrosse Tournament Bracket
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