WORCESTER, Mass. – The first seeded Worcester State University women's soccer team will head to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game, to be held on Sunday in Worcester, after defeating the fourth seeded Salem State Vikings 1-0 in a Friday evening semifinal game.
THE BASICS
November 3, 2017
Coughlin Field
Score: Worcester State 1, Salem State 0
Records: Worcester State (12-4-2) | Salem State (10-8-1)
1ST HALF
Worcester State came out strong in the first five minutes of play until Salem State picked up the pace 10 minutes in and saw two shots on goal from Casey McFall (Wilmington, Mass.) and Ashley LeBoeuf (Dracut, Mass.), though, they both were saved by Worcester State's goaltender, Jill Zinkus (Grafton, Mass.). Worcester State was able to capitalize on a Salem State foul in the 25th minute. The Lancers' Maddie Fong (Norton, Mass.) received a free kick at 26:02 on the right side 20-yards out. Fong sailed the ball perfectly into the air and it dropped just below the crossbar on the upper left side of the net to put Worcester State ahead 1-0. Worcester State then gained momentum and held the advantage throughout the remainder of the second half.
2ND HALF
Each team played phenomenal defense in the second half and only allowed a total of five shots on net between both teams in the stanza. Worcester State saw another scoring opportunity on a Fong free kick in the 53rd minute that found the head of Jenna Martin (Salem, N.H.), though, the ball went inches high of the crossbar. The Lancers saw a few more scoring chances, but were unable to add another goal to the scoreboard. The Vikings saw their best scoring opportunity of the night with just under 10 minutes to go. The Vikings' Emily Boyle (Manchester, N.H.) had a breakaway down the right side of the field and crossed the ball to McFall who made a nice lateral pass to Taylor Capozzi (Lynn, Mass.) who was to the left of the goal. Capozzi fired off two shots, but they both were denied by Worcester State's defense. In the last five minutes, Worcester State maintained possession and closed out the game with a 1-0 semifinal win.
BY THE BOOK
- Fong scored her third goal of the year, and is now second on the team in points with 15 (3 goals, 9 assists).
- Fong led the Lancers' offense with four shots, while three other Lancers tallied three shots on the night.
- The Vikings' attack was guided by McFall and LeBoeuf who had four shots each, and two shots each on net.
- Zinkus earned her fifth consecutive shutout and 10th total on the season in the 5-save performance.
- Rebecca Sabino (Peabody, Mass.) took the loss in net as she made six stops in the 90-minutes played.
- Worcester State held a 25-13 advantage in shots, and an 8-1 margin in corner kicks.
UP NEXT
Worcester State will host the MASCAC Championship game on Sunday (Nov. 5) at 12 noon. The No. 1 Lancers will matchup against the No. 2 Owls of Westfield State, who just defeated No. 3 Bridgewater State earlier today in penalty kicks. This will be the Lancers' fifth consecutive trip to the MASCAC Championship game. Two of the last four years were against Westfield State (Westfield won 1-0 in 2015, Worcester won 1-0 in 2014). Live statistics and video will be availalbe.
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