Worcester, MA- In what has become a traditional game for the Worcester State Lacrosse team (5-3, 0-0), the Lancers would take on the Johnson & Wales Wildcats (3-3, 2-0) in a rain ridden game that would look to have Worcester begin their return to New England by extending their win streak to two. Today's game was also played in support of the Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund created by Gregg '86 and Pam '87 Rosen, aims to provide a robust curriculum that supports peer to peer education regarding early cancer detection.  Raising Awareness in our young people, particularly Worcester State students in the field of public health, can effectively expedite these important educational initiatives to curb the prevalence of late-stage cancer and increase longevity.

Final
Johnson & Wales: 13

Worcester State: 8

How it Happened:

The match opened up with the Lancers winning the opening faceoff and settling themselves on the field as they looked to open the action. The first goal of the game though would go to the Wildcats after they established some possession in the Lancer's defensive zone. A quick one-two on the edge of the box followed by a creative pass in front of the goal as the Wildcats senior Maris DiBeneditto (Southbury, CO) would give the early lead. 

Two penalties early would not result in any goals for the Wildcats but the Lancers played some excellent defense. Junior Olivia LaValle (Peabody,MA) recorded an impressive double save. Not long after this, the Lancers would score to make it 1-1. Sophomore Mckayla Fisher (Peabody,MA), the dynamic second-year middy, would find her way on the scoresheet. The Wildcats would score a goal with 6:44 left on the first-quarter game clock after a turnover in the midfield. The Lancers facing a one-goal deficit would look to stop the Wildcats offense but they would score a third goal not even a minute after their second. Johnson and Wales would draw a penalty which would be thwarted by LaValle. The Lancers would add a point to the scoreboard as the junior Ashley Hurley (Feeding Hills, MA) would laser one into the net, but the Wildcats would respond within a minute of the Hurley strike coming in a transition moment. Johnson and Wales would draw a penalty on the right side of the restricted zone and manage to score their 5th of the quarter. 

Opening up the second period the Lancers would take on the attack and win the faceoff booking it downfield and striking a score on the board by the sophomore Molly Witkowski (Greenville, NY), but the Wildcats would once respond with a goal scored by the junior Isabella Nugent (Virginia Beach, VA) to give them a three-point lead in the second period. The Wildcats would add yet another goal by the junior Madeline Gould (Oakdale, CO) as she would run right through the Lancer's defense for a goal. With about 6 minutes left to go in the quarter, the Wildcats would utilize their possession to create an opportunity for a goal scored by Maris DiBeneditto (Southbury, CO) for her second goal of the game. With about 2:37 left in the second period DiBenedetto would tally yet another goal to complete a hattrick on the day and give the Wildcats a 9-3 lead going into halftime. Worcester is now strangers to second half comebacks though, facing a few in the past few games and would look to regain the momentum in the second half.

LaValle would end the half with five saves with graduate student Shea Jarvis (Auburn, MA) leading the Lancers with two points in the game as she was clutch on the dish for the opening thirty minutes of action.

The third quarter of action the Wildcats would come out strong as they would win the faceoff soon after, Wildcat Mila Kuilan (Danburry, CO) would shoot one right into the Lancers net to improve the score to 10-3. Worcester would show growing momentum though and would add another goal on the board scored by Madigan Kelley (Bourne, MA). With 7 minutes left in the third the Wildcats would strike again as Nugent would laser a shot into the net to improve the strong lead they had against the Lancers. Shortly after the Johnson & Wales goal the Lancers would not give up and would nail one in for a score by Kelly for her second goal of the night. With about 2:31 left in the third, sophomore Abigail Vincent (Lakeville, MA) would rifle one in the Wildcats net to keep the momentum shift up for the Lancers. 

The final quarter of the match would see the Lancers win the opening tipoff but no goals would be scored for either team's opening attacks. It would take about six minutes of action for the first goal of the quarter as the Wildcats came out of a timeout and charged down the field for goal number 12 from the stick of Madeline Gould (Oakdale, CO).  A penalty shot with 8:54 left to go would not be converted due to a dinged post. The Lancers would score on the following transition moment to score their seventh goal of the match as junior Hannah Erickson (Dunstable, MA) would score after drawing a foul off a pass from Jarvis. The Lancers would score another goal due to a couple of good one two passes between Fisher and Jarvis. Fisher would finish the move off and score to make the deficit only 4 goals. Worcester would put up a valiant effort in the final four minutes to try and win but Johnson & Wales fell into a possession battle to kill the clock resulting in the 13-8 victory.

LaValle would end the night with 10 saves while Jarvis would claim three points on the night.

What's Next:

Worcester State now moves to (5-4, 0-0) and will return to action on Saturday when they open up conference play at Bridgewater State. The game has been moved up from its originally scheduled noon start to 11am to accommodate the shifting spring schedules as a result of the late week rain.