Late Goals Sees Lancer Suffer First Conference Loss of the Season

Worcester, MA - The Worcester State Lancers traveled to play in a rematch battle against the Westfield State Owls in Westfield Wednesday night. The last two games for the field hockey team have seen overtime period action and both have had a scoreline that reads 3-2 in favor of  Worcester State. Today's game had a scheduled 7 pm start time to see if Worcester could grab two wins in the regular season over the Owls. 

The first period would see the Lancers dominate the possession and the early shots on target. The two veteran attackers senior Grace Adams (Leominster, MA) and Zoe Athansopoulos (Hopedale, MA) came into the game being top of the league tables for overall points. The two would record the first two shots of the game but both their efforts would be wide of the net. The Owls would record a shot on target that junior keeper Madison Ferrera (Somerset, MA) was able to knock away. The opening period would end 0-0 and the Lancers would look to make some minor adjustments to break the deadlock. 

The second period action would continue to see a stalemate between the two rivals. An early green card would see freshman midfielder Megan Goodwin (Keene, NH) miss some minutes and the Lancers were forced to play with just 10 men for a portion of the quarter. The Owls failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage they had during the two minute stretch. Both teams' defenses were tougher than an 8 dollar steak. The period would see good midfield and defensive work taking on the test but no final product for the Lancer's attack. The game would move into the half still sitting in a tie score, which the Lancers hoped to get ahead of in the second half.

The third period was critical for both teams, as Westfield looked to avenge the early season 4-0 loss to the Lancers and Worcester looked to remain perfect on the top of the MASCAC. The Lancers would see a boost in their attack as junior Sophia Cavallo (Northborough, MA) would record a shot from her winger position. This would shortly follow more good build-up play from her side. Eventually, junior Madison Avilla (Westport, MA) would draw a penalty corner. These set plays have accounted for a lot of the Lancer's offensive output in the game and is a crucial piece of their game play that they focus on continually. The play they had designed worked to perfection and sophomore defender Charlotte MacGregor (Bellingham, MA) would score her first collegiate goal. It would be assisted by Adams and the Lancers grabbed the 1-0 lead. Three more shots the rest of the period and good passing would see the Lancers carrying momentum into the fourth quarter action.

The fourth and final period would see senior keeper Sam Gastonguay (Ashburnham, MA) replace Ferrera. The Lancers defense and Gastonguay were set to work to preserve the victory. Unfortunately, an early penalty corner would see the Owls score their first goal of the game. The majority of the remaining fourth quarter would see the Lancers offense in action with Worcester recording five shots from 3 different players. The passion of the team to find the winning goal would see the Lancers second green card on the day would reduce them to 10 on the pitch. The Owls would gain a burst of momentum and record two shots on target and eventually get an offensive corner that they would capitalize to grab the 2-1 lead and held on in the final moments for the victory. 

The Lancers (7-6, 5-1) would record their first conference loss of the season and will look to rebound from the tight battle on Saturday when they host Bridgewater State at 3pm on Coughlin Field.