Westfield freshman defender Jordan Daniels is pursued by Worcester players during early first-half action. The Owls again played well defensively. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
WESTFIELD – Stephanie Lenhardt scored a game-high seven points (4 goals, 3 assists), and Maura Stack (3 goals, 3 assists) and Amanda Bouchard (5 goals, 1 assist) each tallied six points to power Westfield State University to a 16-4 victory over Worcester State University in the semi-finals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women’s lacrosse tournament on Thursday evening.
No. 2 seed Westfield, 11-4, advances to the MASCAC championship game where it will face archrival and No. 1 seed Bridgewater State on Saturday, May 4. The championship game at Bridgewater begins at 1:00 p.m., with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
With goals from five different players, the Owls jumped out to a 5-0 lead, forcing the Lancers (12-5) to call a timeout nine minutes into the game.
Stephanie Lenhardt scores over Worcester State’s Sam Erwin to give the Owls a 6-1 lead. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
Westfield led at halftime, 12-2, and shifted into cruise control the second half when it outscored Worcester, 4-2.
The Owls again played well defensively, dominating the ground balls, 23-16. Freshman goalie Mimi Khampaeng finished with eight saves and team-high four ground balls.
Westfield controlled the draw controls, 23-16, with Lee Meskevich and Megan Griffin each recording four draw controls. Griffin also had two goals and one assist.
Stack now has 207 career points, becoming the third player in the Westfield women’s lacrosse program’s seven-year history to score more than 200 points.
No player had multiple goals for the Lancers. Goalie Alex Chisholm registered six saves.
