Women's Lacrosse Drops 17-9 Decision to Westfield State

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Westfield State University women's lacrosse team used a strong second half to pull away for a 17-9 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University in a non-conference matchup on Saturday night at Alumni Field.

The host Owls improve to 6-1 on the season with their sixth straight win, while the Bears fall to 2-5. Westfield State has won seven of the last 11 meetings of the two teams, while Bridgewater State holds a 16-7 lead in the all-time series.

The game was knotted at 4-4 after an evenly played first half. The Bears held a slight 14-13 shot advantage after the first 30 minutes as well as a 5-4 edge in draw controls.

BSU junior attack Lily Carson (Medford, Mass.) converted off an assist from senior midfielder Kelsi Brennan (Dedham, Mass.) just 22 seconds into the second half to put the visitors on top, 5-4. The Owls, however, answered with four straights goals, including three by sophomore midfielder Nikki Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.), to take control of the game.

Leading 10-8 with 11 minutes to play, Westfield rattled off seven straight goals to put the game out of reach. Senior attack Haley Mate' (Melrose, Mass.) and freshman attack Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) each found the new twice during the decisive run.

DeMaio and Rinkus each finished with four goals to lead the Owls, with senior midfielder Sam Donohoe (Pepperell, Mass.) added three goals and three assists.

Bridgewater was led by three goals each from Brennan and freshman attack Savannah Herrington (Kinnelon, N.J.).

The two teams battled through an evenly matched first half tied at 4-4. Westfield led 4-2 after DeMaio's second goal with 14:20 to play, but the Bears got goals from Brennan and Herrington to level the game before the intermission. The Owls had a goal by Donohoe disallowed on the ensuing stick check midway through the first half.

Freshman goalkeeper Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.) made 11 saves in goal for the Owls, while sophomore netminder Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) stopped 11 shots for the Bears.

Westfield finished with a 35-28 shot advantage as well as 15-13 edge in draw controls. Donohoe and BSU senior midfielder Emily Hiller (Marion, Mass.) tallied six draw controls apiece to lead all players. Brennan added five draw controls for the Bears.

Up Next: The Bears travel to Fitchburg State University next Thursday afternoon for a four o'clock Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) game with the Falcons. The Owls will head to Mass. Maritime Academy on Thursday to take on the Buccaneers also at four.