Women's Lacrosse Falls to Westfield State, 13-11

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Westfield State University women's lacrosse team held off Bridgewater State University, 13-11, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Thursday night at rain-soaked Swenson Field.

The Owls improve to 5-1 on the season and 3-1 in the MASCAC, while the host Bears fall to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Westfield State has won six of the last ten meetings of the two teams, while Bridgewater State holds a 16-6 lead in the all-time series.

Freshman goalkeeper Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.) made 14 saves on the night for Westfield State including some crucial stops in the latter stages of the game. Banagan (3-1) turned aside nine shots over the first 30 minutes and five in the second half.

The Owls received three goals from senior midfielder Sam Donohoe (Pepperell, Mass.) and two goals apiece from sophomore attack Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.), sophomore midfielder Nikki Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.), freshman attack Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) and senior attack Haley Mate' (Melrose, Mass.).

Freshman attack Savannah Herrington (Kinnelon, N.J.) paced Bridgewater State with a game-high five goals, while sophomore midfielder Katie O'Brien (Pembroke, Mass.) netted three and junior attack Lily Carson (Medford, Mass.) checked in with a goal and two assists.

In a tightly contested game, the Owls tallied the final three goals of the first half, including two by Donohue, to take a 6-4 lead into the break.

After the two teams exchanged goals within the first ten minutes of the second half, Mate' potted an unassisted tally to give the Owls an 8-5 lead at the 18:12 mark.

The Bears answered with three straight goal in span of less than five minutes to knot the score at 8-8. Herrington scored twice during the run while O'Brien converted off the free position.

Westfield responded with three straight goals by DeMaio, Donohoe and Rinkus to pull ahead 11-8 with nine minutes left to play. The three markers came just one minute and 42 seconds apart.

A strike by O'Brien was answered by a DeMaio goal as the difference remained at three (12-9) with 7:43 remaining. Just 32 seconds later, however, Herrington potted her fifth goal of the evening. BSU senior midfielder Emily Hiller (Marion, Mass.) then buried a shot off the free position less than a minute later to pull the Bears to within one, 12-11, with 6:30 showing on the scoreboard.

Banagan came up with two clutch saves in the last five minutes to keep the Owls on top. Kerrigan also made a big stop with 3:30 left to play to keep the Bears' hopes alive.

Out of a timeout, sophomore midfielder Cassidy Connolly (Woburn, Mass.) put the game out of reach for the Owls with an unassisted tally with just 30 seconds remaining. Mate' won the ensuing draw and ran out the clock.

Westfield finished with a 35-31 shot advantage for the game, while Bridgewater held a decided 19-8 edge in draw controls. Hiller led all players with ten draw controls, while senior midfielder Kelsi Brennan (Dedham, Mass.) added five draw controls to go along with a game-high four ground balls and four caused turnovers.

BSU sophomore netminder Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) turned aside seven shots in the setback.

Up Next: The two teams meet again on Saturday night (7:00) in a non-conference game at Westfield.