Worcester State Edged by Fitchburg State, 11-10

WORCESTER, Mass. – Fitchburg State's Andrea Comeau (Watertown, Mass.) led the visiting Falcons to an 11-10 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) win over the Worcester State Lancers Wednesday night at Coughlin Field, scoring a game-high four goals and assisting one in the win.   

With the win, Fitchburg State advances to 9-7 overall and evens out at 3-3 in the league. Worcester State dips to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in the league.

Comeau led the offensive force for Fitchburg State, while Carrie Long (Foxboro, Mass.) and Kayla Panek (Belchertown, Mass.) followed with three and two goals, respectively. Long gathered a team-high seven ground balls, two draws, and five caused turnovers, while Panek saw a team-high two assists in the contest.

Worcester State's offense was driven by the trio of Angelina Sutherland (Tyngsboro, Mass.), Alexis Vecchiarelli (Agawam, Mass.), and Mackenzie Little (Marlborough, Mass.) who netted three goals apiece. Both Sutherland and Vecchiarelli assisted two tallies, while Little led the Lancers with six ground balls and five draw controls.

Fitchburg State dominated the first 15 minutes of play as they held possession and went on a 3-0 scoring spree on goals from Comeau, Long, and Panek. Worcester State broke the nil Lancer score in the 16^th minute when Little registered an unassisted goal, bringing the score to 3-1.

Fitchburg State responded with two more goals to put them up by a game-high four goals with 7:31 remaining in the first stanza. However, Worcester State fought back in the last six minutes of the half and outscored the Falcons 3-1 to trail by just two going into the intermission.

The Lancers brought the game within one just 58 seconds into the second half on a goal from Sutherland. Despite the energy coming off of this goal, Fitchburg State scored four unanswered goals in the next 10 minutes of play to put the score at 10-5 in their favor.

Worcester State once again cut the Falcons' lead, starting with 17:17 left on the clock when Sutherland found the back of the net on a free position shot. The Blue and Gold then tallied three additional consecutive goals to bring the game within one (10-9). Each team added one additional goal in the last 10 minutes of play. However, turnovers put the ball in the Falcons' possession and the Green and Gold came away with the 11-10 edge over the Lancers.

Fitchburg State's Marguerite Belcher (Quincy, Mass.) earned the win in net, marking three saves on the occasion. Despite the loss, Worcester State's Krissy Pessa (Walpole, Mass.) turned away 10-of-21 shots on net.

Fitchburg State outshot the Lancers by a 29-19 margin throughout the game and also held a slight edge in ground balls (24-23).     

Worcester State converted 2-of-2 free position shots, while the Falcons sat at .500 and made 3-of-6.

Next up, Worcester State travels to Castleton University tomorrow (Apr. 27) for a 7 p.m. non-conference game. Fitchburg State wraps up the regular season on Saturday (Apr. 29) with their senior game against Mass. Maritime, starting at 1 p.m.