WORCESTER, Mass. – Westfield State junior midfielder, Meg Doherty (Mansfield, Mass.) broke through with the game-winning goal 34 seconds into overtime as she lifted the Owls over the Worcester State Lancers for a 3-2 win in Little East Conference (LEC) play Saturday afternoon.

Worcester State University ends their regular season play with a 9-8 (5-6 LEC) record, while Westfield State concludes with an 8-9 (6-5 LEC) record.

Not much action was generated in the first half until Worcester State's sophomore midfielder, Hayley Sutherland (Tewksbury, Mass.), put the Lancers up on the scoreboard with a goal assisted by senior Julie O'Rourke (Worcester, Mass.) moments after a penalty corner in the 33^rd minute.

The Owls answered not too long after as they put up a goal right before the half to tie the game at one. Senior midfielder, Emily Williams (Deerfield, Mass.) scored the goal, as Doherty assisted the ball off a penalty corner.

In the second half, sophomore midfielder Kristina Economou (Worcester, Mass.) gave the Owls the gain and scored a goal off a perfectly placed pass from the right side by Williams in the 54^th minute.

With the clock ticking away, Worcester State had to do something to keep them in the game, and they did just that. In the 68^th minute, an opportunity came along as senior Krissy Kenny (Rehoboth, Mass.) passed the ball from the right to senior Erika Lepkowski (Baldwinville, Mass.) who then saw an open goal in front of her from the left side. Lepkowski fired the ball into the goal, and tied the game up at two, leading to the overtime finale from where Doherty's shot gave the Owls the 3-2 win.

Despite the loss, Worcester State had the shot and penalty advantage at 14-9 and 6-2, respectively.

Westfield State's junior net minder Megan Fountaine (Scituate, Mass.) earned the win for the Owls and improves to 8-9 on the season. Worcester State's sophomore goalkeeper, Kathryn Salemme (Boxboro, Mass.) recorded the loss as she moves to 5-4 on the season. Fountaine registered eight saves on the afternoon, while Salemme had two.

The Worcester State field hockey will advance to the LEC tournament next week and begin play on Tuesday (Nov. 3) for the quarterfinals. Tournament bracket can be found HERE.

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