WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's Nikki DiPilla (Sterling, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute to give the Lancers a 1-0 win over the No. 4 seeded Framingham State Rams in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tournament semifinal game Friday (Nov. 4) evening at John F. Coughlin Field.
With the win, the Lancers (8-6-2) advance to the MASCAC tournament championship, to be hosted on Sunday (Nov. 6) at 2 p.m. in Worcester against the winner of a Westfield/Bridgewater State semifinal game. Framingham State's season saw an end tonight as they conclude the 2016 campaign with an 8-11 record.
The game saw an uneventful first half as only four shots were registered on goal (three Framingham State, one Worcester State) and the Rams held the shot advantage 8-to-4.
The second half was a battle between both teams, until the Lancers took the lead with 11 minutes remaining. Worcester State's Nicole Parenteau (Chicopee, Mass.) booted the ball up the field for Worcester's freshman Morgan Goozey (Douglas, Mass.) to get a hold of. Goozey slid the ball across the goal box for DiPilla to put a foot on and place it in the net, proving to be the game-winner.
Framingham State saw one shot on goal from Erin Angelillo (Southington, Conn.) in the last minute of play. However, the shot was saved by Worcester's keeper Vanessa O'Donnell (Worcester, Mass.).
O'Donnell recorded her seventh shutout of the season in a six-save performance and still holds a 0.00 goals against average against conference opponents. The Rams' Keyonzia Gagne-Lamoureux (E. Brookfield, Mass.) suffered the loss and stopped five of six Lancers shots on goal.