WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State Lancers and Westfield State Owls battled Saturday afternoon at John F. Coughlin Field for a major Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival game. The Lancers pulled through the big "W" on goals and assists from a trio players - freshman Tsara LeBlanc (Gardner, Mass.), senior Alicia Macomber (Stoughton, Mass.), and freshman Nikki DiPilla (Sterling, Mass.).
With the win, the Lancers remain undefeated in the MASCAC with a conference record of 4-0-1 and an overall record of 8-4-2. The Lancers diminished the Owls' undefeated conference record, as Westfield State now drops to 3-1-1 in the MASCAC and 7-5-1 overall.
The Lancers paced the game when they scored their first goal in the 5th minute on a cross from the right side by Macomber. The cross was perfectly placed on the top right sector of the goal, and jumbled off of the Owls' freshman keeper's hands, Natalia Falcone (Sutton, Mass.), from where LeBlanc took the ball and tapped into the goal to put Worcester State up on the scoreboard.
Just 14 minutes into the game, a long ball was headed towards Westfield State's keeper, from where she accidently picked up the ball outside the 18-yard box, resulting in a free kick for Worcester State. Macomber stepped up to the plate and slammed a hard shot past Falcone - perfectly placed in the top left corner adding to the Lancers lead.
With the Blue and Gold up by two, the Owls were fierce and searching for their next opportunity to get up on the board. Their time came in the 29th minute when junior midfielder Kate Matroni (Hampden, Mass.) found the open goal ahead of her after a bad touch on the Worcester State defensive line occurred. Matroni took advantage of the faulty touch and slammed the ball past Lancers' net minder, Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, Mass.), for their first goal of the afternoon – leading into a 2-1 score at the half.
Just minutes into the second half, the Owls committed a foul about 25 yards out on the left side, from where Macomber came in to take the kick. Macomber fired the ball to the center of the net, from where another deflection occurred off of Westfield State's substitute keeper, junior Anne Stack (East Longmeadow, Mass.), and LeBlanc and DiPilla were there for the rebound. Both within close range of the rallied ball, DiPilla smashed the ball in the left side of the net to put the Lancers up 3-1.
With about 12 minutes left on the clock, Westfield State had an opportunity to close the gap as junior forward Hannah Zannini (Amesbury, Mass.) took a perfect shot from the right side from where the ball was placed at the top right just below the crossbar. Though, Witkowski made a phenomenal block as it bounced off her gloves and she recovered it for another save on the afternoon.
The Owls had another chance at a goal when senior Christina Buonopane (Stoneham, Mass.) crossed a straight-shot ball across the goal from the right side in front of an open goal, though, none of her teammates were within range to put another shot up on the panel.
Despite the Lancers win, Westfield State took the shot and corner kick advantage on Worcester State, 11-8 and 4-2, respectively.
Worcester State's Witkowski played the complete 90 minutes and tallied seven saves on the afternoon. Time was split at 45 for Westfield's keepers, as Falcone recorded the loss while marking one save on the afternoon. Stack logged two saves in the second half for the Owls.
The Lancers will return to action next Saturday as Salem State will host them in a 3:00 p.m. game. Westfield State will take on non-conference opponent, Brandeis on Oct. 21 before returning to MASCAC play next Saturday when they will face Bridgewater State on the road.
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