Lancers Late Surge pushes past Westfield

Worcester, MA- On a Tuesday night the Worcester State University Lancers hosted a conference battle versus the Westfield State Owls. Both teams came into the game with a 5-3 record and 2-0 in the conference.

The first half saw the Lancers on the attack controlling the ball for a majority of the first quarter. The owls had a few opportunities in the cage that saw sophomore Madison Ferrara (Somerset, MA) step out for the save and quickly transition the play to her midfield. While the Lancers maintained the attack with shot attempts from senior Emily Saucier (Auburn, MA), junior Zoe Athanasopoulus (Hopedale, MA), sophomore Natalya Morin (Barre, MA) and a number of fellow Lancers. The pressure failed to culminate in  a goal for the Blue and Gold in the quarter. While the Lancers continued to attack the zone, Westfield began to find their own momentum in the game. In the 23' minute after a flurry of activity saw Ferrara rack up a number of saves along with a defensive save from fellow defender Maggie Campion, but the quick reactions from the defense were not enough to stop a quick rebound off the pads by Corryn Moroney to send Owls up 1-0. After a spectacular sliding save by Ferrara, near the end of the second quarter, helped preserve the 1-0 lead held through the remainder of the half.

Worcester State was unfazed by the lead and quickly set to work in the third quarter to close the gap in the game. In the 44' minute of the game the Lancers were finally able to put the equalizer into the back of the net when a crips pass from senior Karalyn Jones (Wilbraham, MA) was received by Athanasopoulos in the center of the circle who one timed the pass around Owls goalkeeper Paige Reisman. Just five minutes later saw senior Molly Cutting (Auburn, MA) sent in the game winning goal off a scramble in the circle. Each team put up a fight in the final quarter but the Lancers junior Grace Adams (Leominster, MA) delivered an insurance goal for Worcester when she carried the ball down the left sideline into the circle and with a quick pull back on the ball sent it pounding into the backboard.

The Owls now fall to 5-4 on the season and 2-1 in the LEC, while Worcester State moves to 6-3, and 3-0 in the LEC conference. The Lancers are back in action next Sunday, Oct 1, when they host the Framingham St. Rams in a conference matchup. Pass back is scheduled for 12pm.