Field Hockey Blanks Framingham State, 1-0, In Little East Affair

Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Julie O'Rourke's (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian) unassisted marker in with 46:42 on the clock stood up as the match clincher to help Worcester State defeat Framingham State, 1-0, in Little East Conference field hockey action this morning at Coughlin Field.  

With the win the Lancers improve their mark to 5-1 overall (1-1 LEC) while the Rams slip to 4-2 (0-2 LEC).

O'Rourke originally had several chances to break the scoreless game after 20 minutes had elapsed in the contest, but her consecutive bids at point blank range were stopped by freshman Sarah Place (Auburn, MA).

Five minutes later, Framingham State nearly potted the crucial blow, but sophomore Aliana Willing's (Natick, MA) cross from the right side was too much for senior Kaitlyn Ranieri (Bellingham, MA) to handle in front of the open cage.

As time ticked off the clock in the waning seconds of the opening frame, FSU sophomore Cady Kelly (Canton, MA) delivered a beautiful pass through the defense to an open Ranieri, however, her breakaway bid was broken up by the Lancer defense.

The Lancers and O'Rourke continued to pressure the Rams defense around the 40:00 minute mark in the second period when she fired a rocket from the right side of the apron, but senior Brittany Goben (New Bedford, MA) put her stick up to stop the ball in its path for her second defensive save of the campaign.

The Lancer back line that included senior Katherine Bitters (Greenfield, MA), junior Jourdan Childs (Attleboro, MA) and sophomore Megan Ripke (Southwick, MA) did a tremendous job of helping WSU blank their second opponent of the campaign and for not allowing the Rams to get off a shot in the second period.

Bitters preserved a scoreless game in the 17th minute off a wide open shot by junior Rhea Urbaniak (Chelmsford, MA) with her first defensive stop of the season and fifth of her career.

Worcester State finished with the 18-3 lead in shots (11-3 on goal) while Framingham State held the 7-6 edge in corners – including a 4-1 margin in the final stanza.

Senior Allison Romano (E. Bridgewater, MA) stopped two shots for the Lancers while Palace recorded nine saves in the setback.

Both squads return to non-conference action on the road. The Blue and Gold head to Becker on Tuesday for a 6 PM meeting while the Rams head to Roger Williams in a 4 o'clock stick off.