The Westfield State University women’s lacrosse team won its sixth straight game by dominating Worcester State, 19-10. The Owls now host rival Bridgewater State in a key MASCAC game on Tuesday, April 16, at 7:00 p.m. (File photo by David Demarco)
WORCESTER – Senior Maura Stack (Wilbraham, MA) registered a season-best six goals to go with one assist to lead the red-hot Westfield State University to a 19-10 triumph over Worcester State in MASCAC women’s lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Coughlin Field.
Westfield State (8-2, 3-0 MASCAC) was also led by sophomore Stephanie Lenhardt (Duxbury, MA), who finished with a hat-trick and two helpers, while classmate Amanda Bouchard (Lexington, MA) and freshman Megan Griffin (Granby, CT) both chipped in with three goals apiece.
Griffin tied for game-high honors with five draw controls and sophomore Bridget Everett (Lexington, MA) added four to help the Owls lead in the category, 16-14.
Defensively, freshman net minder Mimi Khampaeng (Hampden, MA) was the standout as she stopped 12 of the 22 shots on net to go with five forced miscues and four ground balls.
For the Blue and Gold (7-3, 0-2 MASCAC), junior Vicki O’Brien (Canton, MA) finished with four goals and one assist while she picked up five ground balls and forced a pair of miscues. Senior Daryl Powell (Beverly, MA) notched a hat-trick to go with five draws. Freshman Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) recorded four ground balls and a trio of caused turnovers.
Westfield opened with a commanding 5-0 run over the game’s first five minutes. Griffin and Stack both had two goals in the run.
But Worcester State answered with a 3-1 spurt to trail 6-3 with 17:18 remaining in the opening stanza. Powell, Connors and O’Brien all tallied for the hosts.
The Owls closed the period by erupting with a 9-2 surge to lead 15-5 at the intermission. In the skein for Westfield State, Lenhardt tallied her hat-trick while Stack and Bouchard both hit home two goals.
O’Brien netted a pair of markers for the Lancers early on, but the Owls scored the next three to maintain running time for the 18-8 edge with 22:34 remaining in regulation.
The Lancers ended the contest with a 3-1 run for the final score as Kilday, O’Brien and Powell all sent in goals.
The Owls led in shots (30-24) as they were 4-for-6 on free position shots. Worcester State was an effective 10-for-10 on clears and actually held the 27-16 margin in ground balls. WSU also outscored the visitors, 5-4 in the final stanza.
Senior goalie Alex Chisholm (N. Brookfield, MA) stopped three shots in the loss.
Both schools continue MASCAC play on Tuesday. The Blue and Gold head to Framingham State for a 4:30 match-up while Westfield State hosts Bridgewater State at 7:00 in a key MASCAC contest.
Bridgewater is 2-0 in the conference and 10-1 overall, suffering its first loss on Wednesday at Mount Holyoke, 16-10. Westfield dropped an 11-6 decision at Mount Holyoke in its season opener.
