Worcester State 2, MCLA 2 2 OT
North Adams, MA --- Despite a goal and an assist by senior Sarah Connors (Gardner, MA), Worcester State University and MCLA tied this afternoon in the opening weekend of MASCAC play. The Lancers (2-2-2) originally had the 2-0 lead at the intermission, but the Traliblazers (1-2-2) rallied with a pair of late goals.
Connors put the Worcester State on top early in the 30th minute when she scored off of a corner kick that keeper junior keeper Jen Wehner (Cooperstown, NY) had trouble handling. The Blue and Gold added to their lead five minutes later when fourth-year Nikki Scott (Berlin, MA) headed in a shot off of a corner kick that was taken by Connors.
MCLA came out of the locker room after the halftime break on a mission to break the shutout as they fired off five shots within the first 10 minutes of the second half, but senior Rachael Armenti (W. Boylston, MA) stopped a pair of shots and the Lancers defense also notched a team save.
It wasn't until the 56th minute that senior Jessica Tietgens (Stamford, VT) broke through the WSU's back line on her team-leading third marker of the season as she took a feed from junior Danielle Parenteau (Southampton, MA).
The Trailblazers then knotted the score in the 72nd minute when sophomore Lauren Ford (Voorheesville, NY) knocked home a loose ball on a pass from third-year Samantha Miller (Reading, MA).
MCLA continued to make noise in both extra sessions as they held a 4-0 advantage in shots during both periods. The home team thought they had clinched the match on a nice attempt by Tietgens in the 96th minute, but her shot hit the crossbar.
Worcester State held a 19-13 edge in shots, but the Trailblazers were only off by one (9-8) in the second stanza. WSU also had a 4-3 edge in corners while MCLA had two in the first overtime.
Armenti stopped a pair of shots for the Lancers while Wehner turned aside seven balls.
Worcester State will play again at home against Plymouth State on Tuesday in a 7 PM non conference affair while MCLA travels to Green Mountain for a 4 o'clock contest on Wednesday.