BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State held visiting Worcester State scoreless in the second half as the Bears downed the Lancers, 15-4, in New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) action on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.
Bridgewater improves to 6-6 on the season and remains unbeaten in NEWLA play with a 4-0 conference record. Worcester falls to 1-9 overall and 1-4 in the Alliance.
Junior attack Sammi Salverio (Hanson, Mass.) tallied three goals and an assist to pace the hosts. Salverio scored her second goal of the day with just one second remaining in the second half to give BSU a 7-4 lead at the intermission. She also found the back of the net to open the second half as the Bears outscored the Lancer, 8-0, over the final 30 minutes.
Bridgewater had taken a 6-1 lead on a Riley Cachelin (Westwood, Mass.) goal with 11:52 left on the first half clock as the Bears looked poised to run away with victory. The Lancers, however, held the edge in play over the next ten minutes and rattled off three straight goals to cut the deficit to 6-4. Salverio's marker with time running down in the stanza ended the run and swung the momentum back in favor of the Bears.
Worcester was limited to just five shots (four on goal) in the second half as the Bears dominated play the rest of the way. Bridgewater held a 18-5 shot advantage in the final stanza and a 31-13 edge for the game.
BSU sophomore netminder Victoria Moore (Duxbury, Mass.) made seven saves to post her fourth win of the season.
The freshman Cachelin led all scorers with five points as she notched three goals and a pair of assists. Sophomore attack Melanie Appleman (Hyannis, Mass.) added three goals and a helper for the hosts, while junior midfielder Michelle Navoni (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied three goals, three controlled draws, seven ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Sophomore midfielder Taylor Clancy (Braintree, Mass.) also had a solid all-around game for the Bears as she finished with two goals, four draws, four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Junior defender Shelby Farland (Fiskdale, Mass.) anchored the BSU backline with five ground balls and a two caused turnovers.
Sophomore attack Vicki O'Brien (Canton, Mass.) paced the Worcester offense with a pair of goals. Junior midfielder Daryl Powell (Beverly, Mass.) registered a team-high four draws and also added an assist. Senior Haley Erickson (Saugus, Mass.) and junior Alexandra Chisholm (North Brookfield, Mass.) combined to make seven saves between the pipes.
In upcoming action, Bridgewater travels to Mass. Maritime Academy on Tuesday evening for a seven o'clock NEWLA match with the Buccaneers. Worcester entertains non-conference foe Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday night also at seven.