BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Visiting Framingham State University advanced to the championship game of the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament as the third-seeded Rams downed #2 Bridgewater State University, 15-8, in the tournament semifinal round on Thursday night at Swenson Field.

The Rams, who improve to 12-7 on the season, will travel to Westfield State University on Saturday to take on the top-seeded Owls in the title game. The Bears end the season with an overall record of 10-8. The two teams were meeting for the third time in MASCAC Tournament play with Framingham winning all three matchups.

Sophomore midfielder Molly Lanier (Tyngsboro, Mass.) paced the visitors with five goals and two assists to go along with three draw controls, while junior midfielder Regan Fein (North Attleboro, Mass.) checked in with five goals and five draw controls.

Sophomore attack Camryn Gonsalves (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led Bridgewater State with three goals and a helper. Senior midfielder Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.) added a pair of goals and a game-high eight draw controls for the Bears.

Framingham rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to lead 5-3 after one quarter of play. Fein and Lanier each scored twice for the Rams in the opening period. Both teams found the back of the net twice in the second quarter as the visitors took a 7-5 advantage into the break.

Fein and Lanier led all players with three goals apiece over the first 20 minutes, while Gonsalves and sophomore midfielder Erin McIntyre (Tewksbury, Mass.) each potted a pair for the Bears.

The Rams netted the first five goals of the second half with Lanier having a hand in four of the five strikes with two goals and two assists. Lanier assisted on a Rachel Erickson (Jr., Dunstable, Mass.) tally with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter to cap off the 5-0 run and give the visitors a 12-5 lead.

Trailing 13-6 with under nine minutes left to the play on the final period, the Bears received back-to-back goals from Langton and Gonsalves to cut the deficit to five (13-8) with 7:51 showing on the scoreboard. Bridgewater, however, would not score again. Junior attack Hannah Guerin (Cumberland, R.I.) and Fein closed out the scoring for the Rams to account to account for the final tally of 15-8.

Framingham held a 39-24 shot advantage for the game, while Bridgewater finished with a 15-12 edge in draw controls.

Freshman goalkeeper Isabella DiMare (Wakefield, Mass.) turned aside ten shots to record her fifth win of the season between the pipes for the Rams. BSU senior netminder Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) made 11 saves in relief of starter Laura Giovaniello (Jr., Walpole, Mass.). Giovaniello played the first 15 minutes and recorded a pair of saves.