Washington, NJ --- Freshman Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) finished with five goals, four ground balls and a trio of caused turnovers as she helped lead Worcester State to a 16-13 triumph over Centenary (NJ) on Sunday afternoon.
The Lancers (2-0) got off to a strong start as they opened the contest with a 7-1 run over the first eight minutes of the contest. Sophomore Molly Kilday (Westford, MA) and first-year Kalia Chase (Northbridge, MA) both registered two goals each in the surge.
After senior Allie Swartz (Marton, NJ) notched a goal for the Cyclones at the 21:38 mark, Worcester State rattled off four consecutive markers to take a commanding 11-2 edge less than nine minutes later.
But Centenary (2-2) ended the frame with some momentum as they used a 4-1 spurt over the final 11 minutes of the period on four unassisted goals, to trail 12-6 at the intermission.
Coming out of the locker room, the hosts picked right up where they left off and netted four of the next five tallies to trail 13-9 with 22:08 on the clock.
Connors, however, put the Blue and Gold on her shoulders as she recorded their next three goals in a 3-1 mini run to help the visitors open up a 16-10 margin at the 9:49 mark.
Centenary answered right back and scored three goals in a span of 36 seconds with two markers by freshman Devin Sutko (Cinnaminson, NJ) to get within striking distance (16-13).
With less than nine minutes remaining in regulation, Worcester State did a great job of keeping the ball away from their opponents and they ran out the clock for the win. In addition it was from this point that neither side recorded a shot for the remainder of the contest.
Kilday notched a hat-trick as Chase and junior Vicki O'Brien (Canton, MA) both added two goals each. Sophomore Angela Grassetti (Feeding Hills, MA) finished with three points including two assists to go with three draws, two forced miscues and a squad-high six ground balls.
Freshman Katelyn Murphy (Billerica, MA) collected three ground balls and finished with three forced turnovers.
For Centenary, Swarz and sophomore Brittlyn Dendy (Waldwick, NJ) put in three goals each and senior Alysia Pinkerton (Frenchtown, NJ) put up season highs of 12 ground balls and tied her campaign best with 10 draw controls.
Dendy also had eight ground balls and two forced miscues as senior Nicole Judd (St. Louis, MO) used her stick to create a trio of turnovers.
Senior Alex Chisholm (Brookfield, MA) recorded seven saves between the pipes for the Lancers while fourth-year Andrea Senkarik (Mays Landing, NJ) made seven stops for the Cyclones.
Centenary led in ground balls (36-29) and draw controls (21-10), but Worcester State was outstanding on clears (16-for-22) and made seven of their 11 free position shots.
The Lancers will take the week off and host Rivier at Coughlin Field next Sunday at 1 o'clock while the Cyclones travel to Immaculata on Wednesday for a 4 PM matchup.