Victoria Whalen, right, carries the ball for Westfield. Whalen had five goals in Thursday’s contest against Belchertown. (File photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
BELCHERTOWN – The Westfield High School girls’ lacrosse team found itself on the winning side of an ongoing tug-of-war with a worthy opponent.
Westfield rallied from an eight-goal deficit on the road to edge Belchertown in a 20-19 thriller Thursday night.
Grace Silva scored off a rebound with 14 seconds remaining to propel Westfield in its season opener. Brittany Hutchison tallied the game-tying goal in the final two minutes.
“It’s a real good rivalry; games are always tight,” Westfield coach Paul Fenwick said. “It’s good to come out ahead. This was a good start.”
The Bombers managed to overcome a nine-goal effort from Emma Jobson.
“I’m just proud the girls never gave up,” coach Fenwick said. “Hopefully (this win) will pay itself back going further into the season.”
Victoria Whalen (1 assist) scored five goals apiece to lead Westfield. Bombers’ McKenzie Millikan had four goals and one assist.
Victoria Meneses recorded 17 saves for Westfield, who last won a league title two years ago. Belchertown is the defending league champ.
