Women's Lacrosse Bests Salem State 16-5 For Tenth Win Of Campaign

Salem, MA --- Freshman Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) tied a season high with six points on five goals and one assist while classmate Kalia Chase (Northbridge, MA) added four tallies as they both helped pace Worcester State to a 16-5 MASCAC women's lacrosse triumph over Salem State this evening.

The Vikings (4-8, 1-4 MASCAC) started quickly, scoring twice in the opening minute, as first-year Erin Riley (Wakefield, MA) netted a goal on a feed from senior Kristen Cahoon (Reading, MA) and teammate Bridget Dullea (Peabody, MA) scored unassisted to stake the home team to a 2-0 lead.

However, Worcester State (10-4, 3-2 MASCAC) responded, scoring six unanswered goals in just over ten-minutes to take control of the game with 15:32 remaining in the half.

Chase added three goals while senior Daryl Powell (Beverly, MA), sophomore Jaclyn Lawlor (Westford, MA) and junior Vicki O'Brien (Canton, MA) contributed one marker apiece during the run.

Dullea answered for the Vikings with her second score of the game, but back-to-back goals by Lawlor, and Conners increased the lead to 8-3 with 10:07 left until halftime.

Salem State freshman Kristina Colon (Dracut, MA) put one on the scoreboard for Salem State, but two goals by the Lancer's top-scorer Molly Kilday (Westford, MA) and another by Conners gave Worcester State a 10-4 halftime lead.

Second-year defender Angela Grassetti (Agawam, MA) helped shutdown Dullea in the second half, allowing only one goal by the MASCAC's leading scorer early in the period before pulling away with five unanswered goals to cruise to an easy victory.

The Lancers received three scores from Connors, and a goal apiece from Chase and Lawlor to close the game.

Senior netminder Alex Chisholm (N. Brookfield, MA) turned away six shots to earn her 10th win of the year for the visitors. Alex Varoutsos (Woburn, MA) stopped four shots in the loss for Salem State.

Worcester State held a slight advantage in shots, 23-21, ground balls (27-25) and the squad controlled the draw (15-7).

With her sum tonight, Connors joins Kilday and former standout Ann Clark as the only first-year women's lacrosse players to join the 50 point club as she has the squad lead with 54 (36 goals - 18 assists).

The Lancers will host Fitchburg State in their regular-season finale with the third-seed in the upcoming MASCAC Tournament at stake on Saturday at noon, while Salem State ends their regular season at Bridgewater State on Friday at 7:00 PM.

Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Salem State Sports Information