FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team dominated the second half en route to a 14-7 victory over Fitchburg State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Saturday night at Elliot Field.
The game marked the MASCAC opener for both teams. Bridgewater State improves to 5-2 (1-0 MASCAC) on the season, while Fitchburg State falls to 5-4 (0-1 MASCAC) overall.
Senior midfielder Lauren Geary (Hull, Mass.) paced the Bears with four goals and one assist to go along with ten draw controls and five ground balls, while junior midfielder Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) registered a game-best six points on one goal and five assists as well as two ground balls, one draw control and a caused turnover.
Junior attack Alex King (North Weymouth, Mass.) added three goals and a pair of assists, and senior attack Marissa Yowell (Ashland, Mass.) potted three goals and recorded a game-best seven ground balls.
Renauld's assist on King's second half goal marked the 200th point of her career.
BSU junior goaltender Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) recorded a career-high 21 saves to notch her fifth win of the season and 24th her career. Forman moved into third place on the Bears' all-time wins list.
Trailing 5-2 in the latter stages of the second half, the Bears received goals from King and Geary in the final six minutes to cut the deficit to 5-4 heading into the break. King's goal marked the 100th of her career.
The Bears carried the momentum into the second half and dominated play outscoring the Falcons by a margin of 10-2 in the stanza. Yowell potted three goals over the first 11 minutes to help the Bears put the game out of reach.
Bridgewater held a decisive 18-5 advantage in draw controls led by Geary's game-high ten. For the second straight game the Bears struggled on free position attempts converting just 2 of 10.
Senior Liz Darrigo (Billerica, Mass.) turned aside 19 shots in goal for the Falcons.
Bridgewater State will visit Plymouth State University on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Fitchburg State returns to action on Wednesday as it travels to UMass Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs starting at 7 p.m.
Notes: With her four goals, Geary moved past Laura Swart (188 goals) into fifth place on the Bears' all-time goal scoring list. She now has 189 goals in four seasons with the Bears....With her five points, Geary increased her career total to 244 as she surpassed Taylor Clancy (243 pts.) for seventh place on the Bears' all-time scoring list....Renauld moved into a tie for ninth place (along with Ann Silvia) on the Bears' all-time goal scoring list with her 145th career goal.