Women's Lacrosse Downs Worcester State, 21-9

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Senior Jenny Jones (Framingham, MA) and junior Kristen White (Pelham, MA) both finished with four goals and two assists apiece to help lead Bridgewater State to a 21-9 victory over Worcester State in New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) action this evening at Coughlin Field.

Senior Bethany Bush (Littleton, MA) propelled the defensive effort for BSU (13-1, 5-0 NEWLA) with seven ground balls and three caused turnovers while freshman Taylor Clancy (Braintree, MA) finished with three ground balls, a trio of draw controls and two forced miscues.

On offense, fourth-year Courtney Lennon (Medfield, MA) added four points with two goals and two helpers as sophomore Michelle Navoni (Mansfield, MA) and freshman Nicki Giordano (Huntington Station, NY) each potted a pair of markers.  Jones notched two ground balls and two draws in addition to her six-point effort.

First-year Shawna Strazzere (Canton, MA) led Worcester State (2-8, 2-3 NEWLA) with a hat-trick that included two free position goals while senior Karla Rotondi (Tewksbury, MA) and junior Megan Sheehan (Dunstable, MA) both recorded two tallies each. Third-year Danielle Clifford (Attleboro, MA) doled out two assists, corralled four draws and caused a pair of turnovers.

Senior Katie Weber (Arlington, MA) earned the win for Bridgewater State as she was not called upon to make a save. Weber, who played just the first half, gave way to freshman Victoria Moore (Duxbury, MA) who stopped two shots for the visitors. Junior Haley Erickson (Saugus, MA) collected 12 saves for the Lancers in the setback.

After Sheehan knotted the score 1-1 on a dish from senior Carley MacIntyre (Townsend, MA) at 24:17, Bridgewater State would close out the opening frame with a 14-0 run as Jones and White combined for seven markers in the outburst with Lennon and Giordano adding two each.

The Lancers rattled off the first three tallies of the second half to make the score 15-4 before the Bears would continue to keep the game well out of reach with three straight goals in a five-minute span from senior Patricia Maloney (Walpole, Mass.) and sophomore reserves Cassie Johansen (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) and Olivia Galvin (Mashpee, Mass.).

BSU outshot the hosts by a margin of 38-19, including a commanding 24-4 edge in first half.  Both squads were an even 15-15 in draws while Bridgewater State led in ground balls 28-10.

The two squads will return to NEWLA play on Saturday. Worcester State looks to upset Fitchburg State on the road at 11 AM while Bridgewater State will entertain Elms at 1 o'clock in their final home contest.

Notes: The win marked the 70th career coaching victory for sixth-year head coach Erika Smith (70-31).  Smith is now just two coaching wins shy of Josh Hexter's (1998-2004) all-time program mark of 72 wins (72-42).