Western Connecticut 2, Worcester State 0
Danbury, CT --- Senior co-captain Meredith Stuart (Washington,
CT) had a goal and an assist to lead the Western Connecticut State
University field hockey team to a 2-0 victory over Little East
Conference rival Worcester State College Wednesday evening at the
Westside Athletic Complex.
WestConn jumped out to an early 1-0 lead at the 6:41 mark of the
first half. Junior co-captain Stephanie Szafran (Killingworth, CT)
took the ball out on a penalty corner and fired a pass to Stuart
who was positioned just outside the top of the circle. Stuart
quickly moved the ball inside the arc and fired a shot just outside
the reach of the Worcester State goalkeeper and into the goal.
At the 27:41 mark, the Colonials extended the lead to 2-0, again on
a well executed penalty corner play. Szafran again took the ball
out for WestConn and fired the ball to Stuart just outside the top
of the circle. Stuart faked a shot and quickly passed to sophomore
Melissa Berardi (Brookfield, CT) whose shot deflected off a
defender’s stick, bounced high in the air over the Worcester
State goalie, and landed in the back of the goal.
In the second half of play, Worcester State dominated play for the
first 15 minutes, keeping the Colonials pinned primarily on defense
and taking the first seven shots of the half. Freshman goalkeeper
Heather Stone (Valhalla, NY) and the WestConn defense denied each
attack as the Lancers outshot the Colonials 8-3 in the second half
of play.
Sensing a well-earned home victory, the Colonials took control
of the action to close out the second half, holding Worcester State
without a shot in the final 10 minutes, to take a 2-0 victory.
For the game, Worcester State outshot the Colonials 14-11 and held
a 9-5 advantage in penalty corners. Stone finished with four saves
in goal for the Colonials to earn the victory, while
Katherine Masternjohn (Warren, MA) finished with
two saves in a losing effort for the Lancers.
With the win, WestConn’s season record now stands at 4-11,
2-7 in the Little East Conference, while Worcester State falls to
3-13, 0-9 in the LEC.
WestConn returns to action Saturday, October 24th, when it travels
to Little East Conference rival Salem State. Game time is slated
for noon.
Worcester State starts a three-game homestand starting with Plymouth State on Friday at 7 PM.
Release Courtesy of Western Connecticut Sports Information