Connors, O'Brien Both Reach Milestones In 21-12 Victory Over UMass Dartmouth

Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Kaila Chase (Northbridge, MA) potted five goals while classmate Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) chipped in with seven points off a trio of tallies and four assists as both helped lead Worcester State to a 21-12 triumph over UMass Dartmouth in non-conference women's lacrosse action this evening at John Coughlin Memorial Field.

Other offensive standouts for the Lancers (4-1) included freshman Alaina Martin (E. Longmeadow, MA) who finished with six points which included three goals and a trifecta of helpers as sophomore Amanda Pruyn (Tyngsboro, MA)  notched a hat-trick.

Senior Vicki O'Brien (Canton, MA) was also solid with two markers and a pair of assists.

Blue and Gold first-year Angelina Sutherland (Tyngsboro, MA) did a little bit of everything with a squad-best seven draws, three assists and a pair of caused miscues. Senior Angela Grassetti (Agawam, MA) picked up five ground balls and she added three draw controls.

Sophomore Katelyn Murphy (Billerica, MA) was a spark defensively causing a trio of turnovers to go with three ground balls.

The Corsairs (1-5) were propelled by senior Taylor Corsano (Bourne, MA) who had a career-best eight tallies and sophomore Colleen Kane (Arlington, MA) pitched in with a hat-trick, three assists and four draws..

On defense, junior Sara Kalmes (Billerica, MA) had a collegiate-high with 11 ground balls. Corsano also aided in the transition game with a game-best eight draws and three caused turnovers.

Worcester State opened with the 5-0 advantage 8:20 into the contest and led 9-3 at the intermission.

Martin helped create three goals with two dishes in the opening burst while Connors, Chase and O'Brien all registered two markers each for the home team by the halftime break.

To start off the second frame, Martin recorded two tallies for WSU before UMass Dartmouth rallied with 6-2 run making it a 13-9 game with 14:30 remaining in regulation. Kane was a factor for the visitors with a trifecta of scores and two assists in the outburst.

The Lancers responded with a 5-1 uprising and opened up an 18-9 score 5½ minutes later. Freshman Lea Robichaud (Holden, MA) was also a difference maker in the net as she logged five of her eight saves in the period during the same stretch.

Following two quick unassisted goals by Corsano, WSU closed out the contest with a 3-1 spurt for the contests final score.

Robichaud improved her season mark to 4-1 between the pipes as she turned aside nine shots in 55:14 minutes of action.

Freshman Nicole Butts (Milford, MA) shouldered the loss for the Corsairs as she was relieved by classmate Lea Wilkinson (Northford, CT) who recorded 11 stops in the setback.

While the Lancers held the 42-25 margin in shots (32-22 on goal), UMass Dartmouth actually led in ground balls (30-27) and draws were even (17-17). UMD, however, was not effective in clearing the ball (14-for-25) especially in the final stanza (6-for-12) and were plagued by 18 first half turnovers.

WSU was 17-for-20 on their clears as 15 of their 21 goals were assisted.  

With their outstanding efforts this evening, Connors and O'Brien both became the sixth and seventh members, respectively, of the WSU's 100 point club.

Connors also moved into fifth place on WSU's all-time scoring list (63 goals – 41 assists – 104 points) while O'Brien is slotted in seventh (76 goals – 26 assists – 102 points).

Both squads will continue non-league action over the next week. Worcester State heads to Gordon on Saturday for a 3 PM draw while the Corsairs take on Bridgewater State on Thursday at Swenson Field in a 7 o'clock match-up.

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