WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's senior forward, Ashleigh Howland (Wilmington, Mass.) scored the Lancers' game-winning goal in the 14th minute to lead the Blue and Gold to their first victory of the season against Clark University Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
September 9, 2017
Coughlin Field
Score: Worcester State 1, Clark 0
Records: Worcester State (1-1-2) | Clark (3-1-0)

1^ST QUARTER

Clark didn't waste any time as Cougars' Taylor Barbieri (Glastonbury, Conn.) put a shot on net within the first 45 seconds of play. Worcester State responded with a shot of their following a corner kick in the 4^th minute.

The teams battled back-and-forth until Worcester State put one past Clark's goaltender, Alison Carroll (Douglas, Mass.) in the 13^th minute. Worcester State's Jenna Martin (Salem, N.H.) passed the ball forward to an open Kaitlin Beluzo (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) who went one-versus-one with Carroll at the top of the penalty box. Beluzo then tipped the ball to an open Howland on the left side for what proved to be the game-winning shot.

Both teams played incredible defense in the remainder of the half, as Clark did not allow any Worcester State shots for a 32-minute span following Howland's goal. Worcester State denied five Cougar shot attempts in the last five minutes of the first half.

2^nd QUARTER

The second half was scoreless as defense was key and Worcester State's rookie keeper, Jill Zinkus (Grafton, Mass.) turned away six shots on net to preserve the Lancer win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Zinkus tallied her first collegiate shutout in an eight save performance.
• Clark's Carroll allowed her first goal against this season, and suffered the loss in a two-save performance.
• Howland tallied her third goal of the season, while Beluzo picked up her first assist in a Lancer uniform.
• Clark's Macy Golman (Dallas, Texas) earned game-high honors in shots with five. Eliza Meltzer (Framingham, Mass.) recorded four shots – two of which were on net.
• Clark outshot Worcester State by a 23-8 margin.
• The Cougars held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks (5-1 in the first half).
• Worcester State broke Clark's three-game winning streak and served them their first loss of 2017 campaign.

UP NEXT

The Lancers return to Coughlin Field on Tuesday, Sep. 12 when they host cross-town opponent, WPI, in a non-conference 7 p.m. match. Clark resumes play on the same date when they host Curry College in a 6 p.m. contest.