WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Westfield State University women's lacrosse team posted a 13-7 victory over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Bridgewater State University on Saturday night at Alumni Field. The game marked the 2022 MASCAC opener for both teams.
The Owls improve to 4-5 (1-0 MASCAC) on the season, while the visiting Bears fall to 4-5 (0-1 MASCAC).
Junior attack Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.) scored a game-high five goals to lead the Owls to the key conference win.
Westfield ran out to a 7-2 lead behind three first-half goals from Harvey. BSU freshman attack Nina Liquori (Agawam, Mass.) notched a pair of free position goals for Bridgewater State cut the deficit to 7-4 and close out the scoring in a roughly played first 30 minutes that included 16 total fouls and seven cards across the two teams.
After the two teams exchanged goals to open the third quarter, theOwls received back-to-back free position tallies from sophomore midfielder Kiely Hafensteiner (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and junior midfielder Nicole Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.) to make it a 10-5 game heading into the fourth quarter.
Westfield junior midfielder Emma Cretella (Cheshire, Conn.) set up classmate Megan Bailey (Quincy, Mass.) to extend the Westifield lead just 38 seconds into the final period. Cretella then tallied a short-handed free position goal with 10:06 left in regulation time to give the Owls their biggest lead of the game at 12-5. Westfield hung on down the stretch, running off clock late to preserve the win.
Cretella added three goals and an assist for the Owls, while Rinkus checked in with a pair of markers.
Liquori finished with two goals and an assist to lead the way for Bridgewater State, while junior midfielder Katie O'Brien (Pembroke, Mass.) also potted a pair of goals.
Sophomore netminder Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.) finished with 15 saves to record her first win of the season. Banagan also corralled a game-high five ground balls.
Bridgewater received 13 saves from junior goalkeeper Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) in the setback.
Westfield held a 32-28 shot advantage for the game as well as a 13-11 edge in draw controls. The Owls converted 17 of 19 clear attempts, while Bridgewater was 18 for 22 on the clear.
Bailey led all players with five draw controls to go along with three caused turnovers. Graduate midfielder Kelsi Brennan (Dedham, Mass.) paced the Bears with four ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers.
In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Plymouth State University on Tuesday night for a seven o'clock game with the Panthers. The Owls entertain Wheaton College on Wednesday night also at seven.