Worcester State Falls to Western Connecticut, 16-14

DANBURY, CT – With Worcester State up 8-7 at the half, the Western Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team scored the first seven goals of the second half to take a 14-8 lead, on the way to a 16-14 victory over the Lancers Thursday night at the Westside Athletic Complex.

Scoring multiple goals for Worcester State was senior Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) with eight goals and junior Alaina Martin (East Longmeadow, MA) with two.  Kaila Chase (Northbridge, MA) led the Lancers with four assists.

For Western, junior Destinee Carey (New Milford, CT) and sophomore Lindsey Eanniello (Danbury, CT) each scored four goals, followed by three from junior Raquel Heitor (Danbury, CT) and two from sophomore Olivia Kosilla (Ellington, CT).  Heitor led the Colonials in assists with five.

Western got on the board first with a goal by Carey in the game's first minute, but Martin wasted little time evening the score at 1-1.

Neither team led by more than one goal over the game's first 25 minutes, before an unassisted goal by Connors gave Worcester State an 8-6 lead with 4:25 remaining in the half.  Freshman Lauren Bradshaw (Bethel, CT) scored on the next possession for Western to cut the visitor's lead to 8-7 going into the locker room at intermission.

The difference in the game was Western's offensive outburst over the first 13 minutes of the second half.

Five different Colonials scored seven unanswered goals to start the period, giving Western a commanding 14-8 lead.

After both teams went scoreless for nearly four minutes, Connors ended the Western run with another unassisted goal to cut the Western lead to 14-9.

With 9:30 remaining in the half, Worcester State had trimmed the Western advantage to 14-11, and when Connors scored her eighth goal with 5:41 remaining, the Western lead was only 15-14.

Eanniello's fourth goal with a little over three minutes to play proved to be the game's final goal, giving Western a 16-14 victory over Worcester State.

For the game, Western held a 29-27 advantage in shots, while Worcester had a slight advantage in ground balls, 18-17.

Colonial keeper Missy O'Donnell (Bridgeport, CT) made six saves to pick up the victory, while junior Krissy Pessa (Walpole, MA) made 11 saves in a losing effort for Worcester State.

With the win, Western now stands at 1-1 on the season, while Worcester State falls to 1-2.  The Colonials return to action Saturday, March 12, when they host Connecticut College at the WAC.  Game time is slated for 3:00pm.  Worcester State hosts Colby-Sawyer at 1:00pm on Saturday.

Release Courtesy of Western Connecticut Sports Information