Lancers Defeat Vikings in MASCAC Quarterfinal Tilt

Worcester, MA- The MASCAC Women's Lacrosse playoffs started today as the fourth-seeded Lancers (9-8, 5-2) were matched against the fifth-seeded Salem State Vikings (6-10, 3-4) in the quarterfinal match. The winner of tonight's game would go on to play the undefeated Westfield State Owls on Thursday evening. This will be a rematch from April 21 where Worcester traveled to Salem and defeated the Vikings by a score of 19-5. Senior attacker Shea Jarvis (Auburn, MA) scored five goals in the contest while Vikings senior midfielder Mackenzie Shmink (Danvers, MA) had two goals.

FINAL: Lancers 17, Salem St. 3

Pregame Notes:

With the Lancer's and the Vikings regular season now officially over and playoffs beginning, the teams will now have their eyes set on a MASCAC championship. 

Entering today, senior attacker Clare Conway (Billerica, MA) finished tied for third in the conference this season in goals (49) and fifth in points (66). Her teammate Jarvis finished tied for ninth in goals (41). Senior goalie Savanna Rosado (Milford, MA) finishes her regular season with the second most saves in the conference (158), second in save percentage (49.1%), and fourth in goals-against average (11.08). First-year attacker McKayla Fisher (Peabody, MA)  exploded onto the women's lacrosse scene as she finished third on the team in points (41) as sophomore attacker Ashley Hurley (Feeding Hills, MA) topped the team in assists (20). Each will try and continue their regular season dominance along with their teammates to advance far into the playoffs. 

For the Vikings, senior midfielder Taylor Sujko (Revere, MA) leads the team in goals (43), assists (20), and points (63). She is followed by senior midfielder Shmink who had 33 points and 26 goals. Senior attacker Jenna Wells (Revere, MA) was also a major part of the Viking's six wins as she was third on the team in points (27) and goals (25). First-year goalkeeper Carson Reidy (Burlington, MA) was tested heavily this season as she has the most saves in the MASCAC (197) and is third in save percentage (47.1%). Sujko, Shmink, Wells, and Reidy will look to upset the Lancers and move on to the next round of the playoffs. 

Salem State would recover the opening draw and quickly get into a half-field set to play. The clock would run down below 50 before any significant penetration of the 12-meter would be attempted. The Vikings would eventually register a shot and a goal with their opening possession. Madison White (Salem, MA), one of the Vikings most dynamic attackers, found the back of the net to open up the game's scoring. A quick timeout would be called by the coaching staff to calm heads and regroup after some defensive miscommunication. Salem would win another draw but a Savanna Rosado block would see the ball go out of bounds and set the Lancers on the attack. The Lancers first offensive attack would see three shots registered but three saves from the Vikings goalie, Reidy. 

Fisher would record the first Lancer goal halfway through off a pass from Hurley in the first quarter to tie up the game at one and not long after, Conway would follow suit off a pass from Gendron. A Rosado save nearly two minutes later would lead to a Lancers counter-attack and Jarvis to her first goal of the game. Just over a minute later Jarvis would record goal number two of that game, this time assisted by Fisher to extend the Lancers lead to three. Jarvis and Fisher would team up again just 30 seconds later to set the score at 5-1 in Worcester's favor. Cailey Ryan (Acton, MA) would add her name to the goal sheet before the end of the first quarter with a quick burst of acceleration to swerve her way through the Vikings defense for the sixth goal of the day. The Vikings would attempt to cut the deficit in the final minutes but Rosado would record another save with 50 seconds left on the clock and a final save with just two seconds remaining to preserve the 6-1 lead.

The Lancers would maintain their offensive strategy with Conway scoring just 30 seconds into the second quarter off another well placed pass from Fisher. The Vikings would try to counter quickly but Rosado would once again record another save resulting in a quick transition down the field that would see Emily Pavoni (Granby, MA) work her way around the crease for an unassisted goal. The Vikings would have a big five-player substitution and see more changes to the lineup which would be fruitful but the Vikings as Jenna Wells (Revere, MA) dodged the defenders in the middle to add a second goal for the Vikings. Salem State was unable to maintain that momentum as a Lancers counterattack would see Conway tuck another ball past Reidy to make the score 9-2. Fisher would move around the field weaving around the staunch Salem defense but was able to record her second goal of the night and see the score settled at 10-2 in intermission.

The Vikings and Salem appeared to be at a standstill for the first minutes of the second half until senior Lily Gendron (Lakeville, MA) would record her first goal of the night. Gendron, having recorded her first, was the primary attacking force in the third quarter as she would record the next two goals for the Lancers. Although she had a quiet first half, she made sure to start the second half hot. First-year Molly Witkowski (Port Jervis, NY) would close out the third quarter scoring with just a minute left to move the scoreboard to 14-2 at the close of the third quarter. 

At the beginning of the fourth, Jarvis would add another goal to her total to make it five on the night, her second five-goal game against Salem this season. Another two goals would be scored by sophomore attacker Abigail Wing (Griswold, CT) and junior Hannah Leahy (Worcester, MA). The Vikings would see another goal added in the final minutes of this quarterfinal clash as Wells would add a second tally to her score sheet on the evening. The final score would end at 17-3. 

The Vikings ended their season with a record of 6-11, 3-5 in the MASCAC, while Worcester State improved to 10-8, 6-1 in the MASCAC. Worcester State advances to the MASCAC semifinals where the Lancers will play top-seeded Westfield away Thursday May 4th at 7 pm.