Western Connecticut Blanks Field Hockey, 2-0

Worcester, MA --- Junior Lauren Atkinson (Southbury, CT) and sophomore Deanne Mastrocola (Goshen, CT) each netted goals to help lead Western Connecticut to a 2-0 win over Worcester State this evening in Little East Conference action at Coughlin Field.

The Colonials snap a five game losing streak to post their first victory in the month of October (6-8) while the Lancers fall to 6-10. Both squads now have identical 3-6 records in LEC play.

Western Connecticut held a 10-2 advantage in shots (8-0 on goal), but the two teams played to a scoreless game at the intermission. WSU junior goalie Kat Masterjohn (Warren, MA) stopped six attempts on net while classmates Haley Erickson (Saugus, MA) and Sabrina Tordoff (Bellingham, MA) each recorded defensive saves to keep a zero on the board heading in to the break.

The Colonials found the back of the net two minutes after the intermission when Atkinson scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season on a nice feed by sophomore Christina Luis (New Fairfield, CT) as the visitors took advantage of a penalty corner.

Worcester State did everything they could do to get something going on offense, but Western Connecticut used a stout defensive effort to keep the game scoreless as they broke up nearly every offensive push up the field.

The best opportunity for the Lancers to score came on a breakaway shot by freshman Lindsey McGeary (Foxboro, MA), but sophomore keeper Heather Stone (Valhalla, NY) sent the ball out of bounds to end the threat.

With no time on the clock, the Colonials used their last penalty corner of the game (as time had expired) to score their second goal. Mastrocola potted the tally on a pass from sophomore Victoria Vitale (W. Milford, NJ).

WCSU held a 20-4 edge in shots (15-2 on goal) and a 15-3 lead in corners.

Masterjohn collected nine saves in the setback while Stone turned aside a pair of shots on net. Junior Ally Valencia (Dedham, MA) notched two defensive saves in the second half to keep the score a one-goal contest as she now leads the LEC with 10 stops on the back line for the Lancers.

Seniors Megan Feehan (Lunenburg, MA), Amanda Maillet (Saugus, MA) and Karla Rotondi (Tewksbury, MA) were all honored on "Senior Night" for playing in their final home contest.

Both teams return their attention to continuing LEC play on Saturday. Worcester State travels to Plymouth State for a 12 PM contest while Western Connecticut entertains Salem State in a key LEC matchup at 6 o'clock.