Field Hockey Opens Little East Play with Triumph

Worcester State 2, Westfield State 0

Worcester, MA --- Junior Samantha Janda (Sterling, MA) registered one goal and an assist to help lead Worcester State University to a 2-0 win over Westfield State in Little East Conference field hockey action this morning.

The victory over the Owls (2-1, 0-1 LEC) was the first for the Lancers in eight years as their last victory came in the form of a 1-0 double overtime triumph on October 8, 2002.

Janda put the Worcester State on top early 1-0 on in the game when she scooped up a rebound off of a save for her third tally of the season at 7:57.

Worcester State would continue to pound the Westfield State's side of the field as they would end the period with an 8-1 advantage in shots. Sophomore Ally Valencia (Foxboro, MA) came up with an extra insurance goal towards the end of the frame when she hit a laser beam into the net off of a pass from Janda as the Lancers took advantage of a penalty corner. The stroke came with 1:06 left in the opening half.

To start off the second frame the Owls had four consecutive penalty corner opportunities, but the Lancer defense did a great job of killing each one.

The Westfield State would end the game with only one attempt on goal and it came with 11 minutes left in regulation as sophomore Lauren Tavares (Tiverton, RI) had a good look at the net, but third-year keeper Kat Masterjohn (Warren, MA) kicked it out of harms way for her only save of the contest.

Westfield State goalkeeper Amanda McCarthy (Franklin, MA) made five stops between the pipes as Masterjohn recorded her second career shutout and the first of the season. The Owls also had a defensive save midway though the first half as freshman Kerri Kinsella (Seekonk, MA) sent a shot of Valencia's out of bounds.

Worcester State held advantages in shots (11-6) while both teams were tied in penalty corner opportunities (7-7).

Both teams will entertain non conference opponents on Thursday at 7 PM next week. Worcester State takes on Anna Maria while Westfield State will host defending Commonwealth Coast champion Nichols.