WORCESTER, MASS. – The Worcester State University Lancers bested the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales University (RI) by a score of 14-12 on Thursday night in women's lacrosse action.

Worcester's junior midfielder, Lily Gendron (Lakeville, MA) opened up the scoring for the Lancers on a free position to put Worcester up by one in opening minutes. First-year attack, Ashley Hurley (Agawam, MA) followed up a tally of her own, assisted by junior attack, Shea Jarvis (Auburn, MA). The Wildcats would tie the game up in the 9^th minute of play on a pair of Madeleine Gould (Oakdale, CT) goals.

The Lancer's first-year Hannah Erickson (Dunstable, MA) and senior midfielder, Julia Ravenelle (Barrington, NH) struck next putting Worcester up by two. JWU's junior midfielder, Margaret Johnson (Bear, DE) cut the lead in half for the Wildcats in the 14^th minute of play, yet Worcester's senior defender Abby Lauzon (Lakeville, MA) would answer back for Worcester just 20 seconds later to put the Lancers up 5-3 to end the first quarter.

The second quarter proved to be a defensive standoff, with only one goal scored for each team. Worcester's Jarvis notched her 2^nd of the game and JWU's sophomore midfielder, Taina Gamory (Warwick, NY) added her first of the game.

Second half scoring opened up, as Worcester's senior attack, Clare Conway (Billerica, MA) added two scores in the 3^rd quarter, while Erickson put through her second of the game. JWU's sophomore defender, Katie Sloan (Ellicott City, MD) had two of her own, while sophomore midfielder, Maris DeBeneditto (Southbury, CT) added one to keep the score within one headed into the final quarter of play.

The 4^th quarter brought more offense as Gendron notched a rebound attempt on a free position. Erickson added her third of the night, extending the lead to 12-9 in Worcester's favor. JWU's DiBeneditto answered back for the Wildcats, yet Ravenelle found an offensive streak, adding a pair of goals to put Worcester up 14-10 with just 9 minutes left in regulation.

The Wildcats found an offensive surge in the final five-minutes of action on goals from Gamory and DiBeneditto, but Worcester would hang on to the lead, closing the contest at 14-12. 

Worcester's junior goalkeeper, Savanna Rosado (Milford, MA) stopped 10 of 22 shots on net, while JWU's first-year, Emma Glyman (Tolland, CT) and first-year, Emma Crowley (Leicester, MA) combined for 13 saves on 27 shots on goal.

Worcester improved to 3-1 on the win, while Johnson and Wales fell to 1-2 with the loss. Worcester returns to action on March 14^th as they head to California to take on Redlands at 10:00pm est. Johnson and Wales will host Dean College on Saturday, March, 12^th at 12:00pm.

STATISTICAL SPOTLIGHT

WORCESTER:

• Worcester had three separate players with three goals: Clare Conway, Hannah Erickson, and Julia Ravenelle.
• Abby Lauzon led Worcester in assists with 3. Lily Gendron and Shea Jarvis had two apiece.
• Shea Jarvis lead Worcester in shots with 9, while Clare Conway had 6.
• Lily Gendron lead Worcester with ground balls at 4, while Shea Jarvis had 2.
• Savanna Rosado led the game with 10 saves. 

JOHNSON AND WALES:

• Maris DiBeneditto lead the game in goals with 4, while Taina Gamory added 3.
• Katie Sloan had 3 assists on the night.
• Maris DeBeneditto had 7 shots while Sloan and Gamory had 6 apiece.
• Three separate Wildcats had two groundballs: Sloan, Gamory and Johnson.
• Emma Glyman had 9 saves on 18 shots and Emma Crowley had 4 saves on 9 shots.