Women's Lacrosse Opens MASCAC Play with Victory over Salem State

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University women's lacrosse team picked up a convincing 12-2 win over Salem State on Saturday afternoon in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams at John F. Coughlin Field.

With the victory, Worcester State picks up its second straight win and improves to 4-2 on the year. Salem State falls to 1-7 overall.

A goal from sophomore Kylie Hill (Lunenburg, Mass.) got Worcester State's offense going early in the first half, when she buried her first goal of the afternoon just 2:45 in. Junior Rachel Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) added an assist on the goal, and the Lancers were off and running. Worcester would score the next six goals to take a 7-0 lead, before Salem State's Tara McLaughlin (Woburn, Mass.) put Salem on the board with 46 seconds left in the half. The teams went to the break with the Lancers holding a 7-1 advantage.

Hill netted a first half hat trick, while freshman Ann Maher (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied a pair in the half. Junior Kelly Austin (Brimfield, Mass.) and sophomore Abby Magnuson (Ellington, Conn.) also found the back of the net in the opening 30 minutes.

Hopkins and freshman Madison Brennan (Pomfret, Conn.) got in on the fun to extend Worcester State's lead to 9-1 just 2:13 into the second half. Sophomore Taylor Lund (Woburn, Mass.) cut Worcester's lead to 9-2 with just under 13 minutes to play, but Brennan responded with her second of the day 56 seconds later to push Worcester's edge back to eight. Hopkins and Hill each added to their totals in the closing minutes of the contest to wrap up the 12-2 victory.

Hill's four-goal effort led all players in the win, while Austin added a goal and four assists for a game-high five points.

Worcester State goalkeeper Chloe O'Brien (Sturbridge, Mass.) made six saves on eight shots to pick up her fourth win of the season. Sophomore Gianna DeNisco (Peabody, Mass.) took the loss for the Vikings despite making 13 saves on 20 shots in the first half alone. Classmate Trisha MacLean (Medford, Mass.) came on in relief in the secon half and made eight saves on 13 shots.

The Lancers will return to the field on Tuesday with a road trip to Eastern Connecticut State set for 5 p.m. Salem State is off until next Saturday, when they travel to Westfield State in search of their first MASCAC win.

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