BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Senior Stephanie Lannon (Wilbraham) notched a game-high six points on four goals and two assists to lead top-seeded Bridgewater State University to a convincing 13-2 victory over number four Fitchburg State University in a New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) Tournament semifinal game on Wednesday evening at Swenson Field.
Bridgewater (11-7) now advances to the NEWLA championship game for the fifth straight season, where it will play second-seeded Westfield State University. The NEWLA championship game is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, at Swenson Field beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Bridgewater used an outstanding defensive effort in the semifinal triumph over Fitchburg as the Bears limited the Falcons to just the two goals on seven shots. The Bears, in fact, notched the first 13 goals of the game before Fitchburg (7-10) scored twice in the final seven minutes with the game already well out of reach.
The game was scoreless until Lannon broke the ice with just over 18 minutes remaining in the first half. The Bears would pot four goals over the final eight minutes of the opening stanza, with sophomore Taylor Clancy (Braintree, Mass.) scoring twice in that span, to take a 5-0 lead into the intermission.
Freshman Amanda Liebetruth (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) opened the second half scoring for BSU with Lannon sandwiching her second and third goals of the night around a Clancy marker to give the Bears a 9-0 lead as the clock ticked down to 20 minutes.
Freshmen Maureen Navoni (Mansfield, Mass.), classmate Riley Cachelin (Westwood, Mass.), Clancy and Lannon capped off the scoring for Bears before sophomore Chelsea Roberts (Newburyport, Mass.) connected for Fitchburg with 6:42 left to play. Freshman Amber Nunes' (New Bedford, Mass.) goal with 1:10 remaining accounted for the final score of 13-2.
Along with her six points, Lannon also added three ground balls and a controlled draw. Clancy finished with four goals and a helper t to go along with six ground balls, four draws and a pair of caused turnovers. Junior Michelle Navoni (Mansfield, Mass.) chipped in with a goal, two assists, five ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Cachelin, Liebetruth and junior Sammi Salverio (Hanson, Mass.) each notched a goal and an assist.
BSU sophomore netminder Victoria Moore (Duxbury, Mass.) posted her seventh win of the season as she turned aside four shots. Sophomore Dylana Drolette (Burlington, Mass.) made nine saves in the loss for the Falcons.
Bridgewater held a dominating 23-7 advantage in shots as well as a slight 9-7 edge in controlled draws. The Bears also limited the Falcons to just one free position attempt and none in the second half.
Notes: Bridgewater will be looking to capture its fifth straight NEWLA Tournament title and seventh overall when they take on Westfield on Saturday night…The Bears handed the Owls their only league loss, 9-5, on April 21…Westfield advanced to the championship game by pulling away from Framingham State University for a 21-14 semifinal victory on Wednesday.