Danbury, CT --- Junior Rebecca Rivera (Monroe, CT) and freshman Samantha Carbonell (Berlin, CT) each tallied goals to help Western Connecticut State claim a 2-0 victory over the visiting Worcester State this evening at the Westside Athletic Complex.

With the win, the Colonials improve to 8-4 on the season while the Lancers snapped a six-game winning streak to fall to 7-2.

Western Connecticut began the game as the aggressor, keeping the ball pinned in the Blue and Gold end of the field for the game's first eight minutes, taking four shots and earning two corner kicks.

Rivera gave the hosts an early lead when she took a pass from fellow classmate Lisa Sanzari (North Haven, CT) and drilled a rising shot past the Worcester State keeper and into the top, back corner of the net for a 1-0 Colonial lead before WSU could bring the ball across midfield.

The Lancers came out onto the field for the second half and controlled possession early in the stanza.

At the 55:54 mark of the second half,  junior Alicia Macomber (Stoughton, MA) nearly scored the equalizer when her shot went over the outstretch hands of the Western keeper, but the ball bounced squarely off the front of the crossbar and back into play where it was cleared by the Colonial defense.

The Blue and Gold continued their offensive attack, which contributed to a 9-5 shot advantage in the second half. However, the Owls defense was able to turn away each scoring opportunity.

With less than 10 minutes to play, Carbonell collected the rebound of a shot taken by senior Sarah Menta (Newington, CT) just to the left of the cage, and slipped the ball behind the Worcester State keeper to make the score 2-0.

Western Connecticut controlled the ball down the stretch, never allowing Worcester State another shot for the remainder of the contest.

For the game, the Colonials finished with a 19-15 advantage in shots and a 3-2 edge in corner kicks. 

WSCU freshman keeper Jillian Fernandez (Columbia, CT) made five saves to pick up the win for the Colonials in the shutout.  For the Blue and Gold, junior Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, MA) made six saves in a losing effort.

Both squads host conference opponents on Saturday afternoon. Worcester State looks to get back on the winning track by hosting MASCAC rival Bridgewater State at 2 PM while the Colonials travel to Plymouth State at noon in a LEC affair.

Major Portions Of Release Courtesy of Western Connecticut Sports Information

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