Worcester, MA- An overcast Saturday afternoon at John F. Caughlin Memorial Field set the scene for the Lancers final regular season tilt. Prior to the action, Worcester State celebrated eight graduating student-athletes as a part of senior day.
The eight honored seniors were as follows:
#00 Savanna Rosado (Milford, Mass.)
#2 Lily Gendron (Lakeville, Mass.)
#3 Bridget Smestad (Branford, Conn.)
#6 Shea Jarvis (Auburn, Mass.)
#11 Meghan Haines (Agawam, Mass.)
#12 Jessica McKenzie (Mendon, Mass.)
#20 Lauren Mcintyre (Tewksbury, Mass.)
#26 Emily Pavoni (Granby, Mass.)
Once the ceremonies came to a close, the Lancers got down to business. Playing host to the Fitchburg State Falcons, this game would decide if the Lancers finished above or below .500 with their record at 8-8 coming in.
Worcester State got on top of the conference battle early, when Pavoni started the scoring just over two minutes into the action. Pavoni was not done celebrating senior day, netting another one about four minutes later to put the Lancers up 2-0. With a little over 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Shea Jarvis got in on the senior fun with a goal of her own that cemented the Lancer lead at 3-0 after the opening 15 minutes.
It would take a free-shot opportunity early into the second quarter for Fitchburg State to breach the Lancers defense and crack the scoreboard to pull within two, making the score 3-1. Worcester State was quick to get the goal back, with Jarvis capturing her second goal under two minutes after the Falcons found the back of the net. Jarvis' second of the game was followed quickly by graduate student Clare Conway (Billerica, Mass.) scoring her 200th career goal to make it a 5-1 lead. With the milestone goal, Conway becomes just the fourth player in Lancer lacrosse history to eclipse the 200 mark. First year McKayla Fisher (Peabody, Mass.) added another goal to widen the gap to 6-1. The scoring berate continued when Pavoni scored her third goal of the game to complete the hat trick. The hat trick, accomplished in just over 20 minutes of game play, made the score 7-1, and was quickly followed by Conway's second of the game to extend the lead to 8-1. Conway was not done, joining Pavoni with a two-quarter hat trick of her own to change the scoreboard to 9-1. Pavoni made it a four-goal half before time expired in the second quarter to make it 10-1 at the break.
A minute into the third quarter the Lancers picked right up where they left off, expanding their lead to double digits on a Gendron goal. Conway scored the Lancers 12th goal of the game moments later, which was yet another milestone moment for the graduate student. This marked her 300th career point, a mark met by only two other Lancers in women's lacrosse history. Sophomore Abigail Wing (Griswold, Conn.) put herself in the scorebook with a goal that made
the Lancers lead 13-1, but a pair of Falcons goals in the closing moments of the third quarter made it 13-3 headed into the fourth.
Jarvis scored four minutes into the final quarter to make the score 14-3, and joined Pavoni and Conway with the third Lancer hat trick of the day. Pavoni, who helped on the Jarvis goal, picked up her seventh point of the day thanks to her four goals and three assists. Sophomore Ashley Hurley (Feeding Hills, Mass.) scored the Lancers 15th goal of the game a couple minutes later. Shea Jarvis capped off her senior day in grand fashion, scoring her fourth goal of the game and 100th of her career, putting the Lancers up by a game-best 13 points. The Lancers were not done yet, as senior Bridget Smestad tallied a goal of her own to make it 17-3. A nice moment occurred in the closing moments of the game, as on senior day, four-year defender Meghain Haines scored her first career goal to extend the lead to 18-3. The Falcons scored in the final minute for good measure to make the final score 18-4.
Rosado was fantastic as always in net for the Lancers, saving six of 10 Falcons shots on goal, providing a solid backbone for a massive Lancer victory.
The Lancers close out the regular season with a big win that brings their record to 9-8 overall and 5-2 in the conference. Following today's action, their playoff seeding and subsequent playoff schedule will be announced shortly.