Women's Soccer Falls To Bridgewater State In MASCAC Finals

Bridgewater, MA ---   Tournament MVP, Bridgewater State sophomore Mackenzie Hatfield (Whitman, MA) tallied one goal and an assist to help lift the third-seeded Bears to a 3-1 victory over #4 Worcester State in the MASCAC Women's Soccer Tournament Championship game this afternoon at Swenson Field.

With the win Bridgewater State (9-8-2) captured the conference's automatic berth to next week's NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lancers, making their seventh tournament championship game appearance since 2004, wrap up their season at 11-7-2 overall.

In the opening frame, the Blue and Gold outshot their opponents 5-3, but were down 1-0 at the halftime break. Senior Calely McClendon (Keene, NH) scored her second goal of the season following a cross from the middle by Hatfield to score with 22 ticks left in the first period.

The Bears extended their margin to 2-0 in the 49th minute on a freshman Erica Johnasson (Wrentham, MA) header over sophomore net minder Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, MA) for her team-best 16th on the campaign.

In the 66th minute, Hatfield helped give the hosts some breathing room with her ninth of the year after a senior Katie Nasuti (Millbury, MA) feed from the right side.

The Lancers buckled down on the offensive end of the field and rattled off four attempts over the next 15 minutes of play.

Junior Cassie Giardina (Pittsfield, MA) had a bid in the 69th minute and classmate Alyssa Sawyer (W. Springfield, MA) was open seven minutes later, but neither could finish on the other side of the field.

Senior Gaby Gonet (Agawam, MA), however, helped put the visitors on the board in the 84th minute with her seventh tally of the campaign off a free kick.

However, the Bears shut down their opponents in the final minutes of the final frame to preserve the win.

Witkowski finished with two saves for the Lancers as senior Kerry Condon (Whitman, MA) turned aside a pair of shots in the victory.

Worcester State actually led in shots (12-7) while BSU held the 5-3 edge in both attempts on net and corners (6-2).

Gonet wraps up her career with the eighth most goals in program history (23) and she sits with the eighth-most points (60). Senior Laura Maunsell (Medford, MA) also collected 38 points over her four-year career for the 16th on the all-time scoring list.

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