BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team cruised to a 24-5 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Fitchburg State University on Saturday evening at Swenson Field.

The Bears improve to 5-6 on the season and 1-1 in the MASCAC with the win, while the visiting Falcons fall to 5-7 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Bridgewater State is now 21-1 all-time versus the Falcons dating back to 2008.

Bridgewater scored the first five goals of the game and never looked back. The Bears led 8-1 after one quarter of play and took a 14-4 lead into halftime. The hosts continued to dominate play in the second half outscoring the Falcons 10-1 over the final 30 minutes.

Thirteen different players scored for Bridgewater State while 16 recorded at least one point. Senior attack Katherine Tracy (Marion, Mass.) paced the Bears with three goals and two assists, while freshman attack Nina Liquori (Agawam, Mass.) potted a team-high four goals.

Freshmen attackers Melanie McClay (Plymouth, Mass.), Camryn Gonsalves (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Katy Shaw (Centerville, Mass.) each scored their first collegiate goal. All three BSU newcomers also dished out their first collegiate assist. McClay finished with three goals and a helper, while Gonsalves tallied two goals and an assist. Shaw registered a goal and an assist.

Senior attack Lily Carson (Medford, Mass.) added three assists for the Bears, while senior midfielders Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.), Hayley Carron (Hopedale, Mass.) and Lindsay Brown (East Longmeadow, Mass.) notched two goals apiece.

BSU freshman defender Sarah Lombard (Ipswich, Mass.), senior midfielder Katie Swart (Bridgewater, Mass.), freshman midfielder Erin McIntyre (Tewksbury, Mass.) and sophomore defender Katherine Wrona (Belchertown, Mass.) each checked in with a goal and an assist. Lombard and McIntyre recorded their first collegiate assist., while Swart and Wrona picked up their first assists of the season.

Freshman midfielder Hannah Bowlby (Dalton, Mass.) also scored for Bridgewater State, while classmate Olivia Rankin (Tyngsborough, Mass.) dished out her first collegiate assist.

Junior attack Eva Kozikowski (Portsmouth, N.H.) paced the visiting Falcons with a game-high five goals.

BSU netminders Olivia Kerrigan (Jr., Braintree, Mass.), Laura Giovaniello (So., Walpole, Mass.) and Brooke La Torra (Fr., Oak Park, Calif.) each saw action in the game with Kerrigan picking up her team-leading fourth win of the season. Kerrigan made three saves in 15 minutes in the cage, while Giovaniello turned aside four shots over 30 minutes. La Torra played the final 15 minutes and did not face a shot.

Junior Francesca Reyes (Malden, Mass.) and freshman Alyson Cote (South Hadley, Mass.) split the game between the pipes for Fitchburg State and combined to make 19 saves.

The Bears finished with a 53-18 shot advantage for the game as well as a 19-12 edge in draw controls. Wrona led all players with eight draw controls, while McIntyre finished with five draws to go along with a game-high five ground balls.

The Falcons struggled on the clear converting just 8 of 18 clear attempts, while the Bears went 13-for-16.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams next week. The Bears travel to Framingham State University next Saturday for a noontime game with the Rams, while the Falcons travel to Westfield State University on Friday night to take on the Owls at seven.