Women's Soccer Drops 2-0 MASCAC Decision to Westfield

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Westfield State University women's soccer team posted a 2-0 shutout victory over Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup at Alumni Field.

The Owls improve to 9-3-1 on the season and 5-0 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 8-4-2 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play. Westfield now holds a 23-16-8 advantage in the all-time series as the two teams have met every season since Bridgewater added women's soccer as a varsity program in 1987.

Graduate forward Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.) tallied the game-winning goal via penalty kick late in the first half for the hosts. With the score knotted at zero, freshman forward Kiki McNary (Brattleboro, Vt.) got fouled inside the 18, setting up Rennich for her conference-leading 14th goal of the season with 1:17 showing on the scoreboard.

Midway through the second half, the Owls threatened to double the lead with McNary sending a through ball to sophomore forward Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass.) who got in behind the defense. Parker fired a shot towards the upper left corner of the net where Bears' freshman goalkeeper Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.) came up with an impressive diving save to keep it a one-goal game.

Parker, however, would not be denied later in the stanza as she delivered a strike from the top of the 18 past the outstretched arms of Levesque in the 82nd minute to make it a 2-0 game.

Westfield finished with a 22-8 shot advantage for the game while Bridgewater held a 5-2 edge in corner kick attempts. All eight BSU shots and all five corner kicks came in the second half.

Levesque kept the Bears within striking distance throughout the contest, compiling 11 saves. Owl rookie netminder Julia Robak (Chicopee, Mass.) recorded three second-half saves, while also punching out a corner from senior forward Michelle Belcher (Norton, Mass.) late in the second half that was placed directly into the center of the box to secure the shutout.

The Bears are off until next Saturday (Senior Day) when they host MASCAC foe Massachusetts Maritime Academy at noon. The Owls to UMass Dartmouth for a non-conference game on Tuesday night at seven.