Second Half Surge Pushes Lancers past Western Connecticut, 9-8

WORCESTER, Mass. – After trailing by three at the half, the Worcester State University women's lacrosse team ignited a second half surge and outscored the Colonials 8-4 to push past Western Connecticut by a score of 9-8, earning their first win of the season.

Worcester State University's Mackenzie Little (Marlboro, Mass.) paced the Lancers' offense as she not only scored four goals and assisted one, but she also scored the game-winning goal with 27 seconds left in the game. Little also picked up three draw controls and caused four turnovers on the defensive end.

Alexis Vecchiarelli (Agawam, Mass.) collected two goals for the Blue and Gold, while Alaina Martin (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) registered a goal and an assist. Senior midfielder, Angelina Sutherland (Tyngsboro, Mass.) led the team in assists, ground balls, and caused turnovers, with five in each category.

Brooke Baldelli (New Fairfield, Conn.) guided the offense for the Colonials, as she scored five goals and picked up three ground balls. Lauren Bradshaw (Bethel, Conn.), Olivia Kosilla (Ellington, Conn.), and Meghan Gustafson (Newington, Conn.) recorded the remaining three goals for Western Connecticut. Carley Altemose (Stratford, Conn.) led the team with five draws, while Bradshaw and Baldelli collected three ground balls apiece.

Western Connecticut started the scoring in the third minute of the game when Kosilla marked an unassisted goal. The Colonials upped the score to 3-0 in their favor on two back-to-back shots from Baldelli, one of which was a free position shot. It wasn't until there was 2:22 left in the first half that Little put the Lancers up on the scoreboard. The visitors added one more goal before the half to check the score at 4-1 in their favor going into the intermission.

Worcester State came out fierce in the second half, dominating shots 21-7 in the frame. The Lancers began the second half with two consecutive goals to cut Western Connecticut's lead to just one. The Colonials responded with two of their own from Baldelli, until Worcester State went on a 4-0 run with 18:28 on the clock to take their first lead of the game. The teams battled with each other and tied the score twice in the last seven minutes of play. Nevertheless, Worcester State ended up on top as Little scored a man-up goal with 27 seconds to go.  

"It was a great team victory that we have been working toward," commented head coach Kelly Downs. "We played great team defense which carried us to the win."

Worcester State's Krissy Pessa (Walpole, Mass.) marked her first win of the season in a 7-save performance. Western Connecticut's Missy O'Donnell (Bridgeport, Conn.) moves to 3-4 on the season as she collected 10 saves in the 60 minutes played.

Worcester State (1-3) returns to action on Thursday, March 30 when they travel to Curry for a 5 p.m. non-conference game, before starting MASCAC play on Friday at Framingham State. Western Connecticut (4-4) kicks off conference play on Saturday, April 1 when they travel to Keene State for a 1 p.m. matchup.