Lancers Lacrosse Opens Season with Victory over Golden Bears

Worcester, MA- The 2025 defending MASCAC Championship Women's Lacrosse team began their season a day later than expected today with a weather delayed shift in their meeting with Western New England. In a snow wrapped field with minimal spectator participation, the Lancers headed west to the Golden Bears to kick off their 2026 season.

Final

Worcester State: 14

Western New England: 13

How it Happened:

While the Golden Bears would find the first two goals of the game, it would take Worcester just over five minutes to find their own success as senior Molly Witkowski (Greenville, NY) would open the 2026 scoring season. Just a minute later junior Madigan Kelley (Bourne, MA) would level the game at two a piece before first year Fallon Lozano (Upton, MA) would get the perfect feed from Witkowski to grab the Lancer lead and her first career goal. Just second later the duo would follow it up again to find the lancers up by two. A quiet stretch would hit both teams before junior Meghan Bowen (Westfield, MA) would claim the pass from senior Shannon Donahue (Dennis, MA) to set the score at 5-2. Witkowski would again find success with her second goal of the game, quarter and season to close out the scoring in the first. 

Worcester would enter the second with a player advantage and capitalize just 20 seconds in when first year Meghan Heffernan (Westminster, MA) would record her first goal, this time off the aid of Lozano. Western New England would begin to find their offensive mojo grabbing two quick goals to settle the score at 7-4. A penalty on the Lancers would provide the Golden Bears some additional breathing room which they used to generate their fifth goal. end would find goal number six before Worcester was again able to settle into some offensive rhythm as first year Maryl Hooper (Westminster, MA) found her first collegiate goal off the senior assist of Mckayla Fisher (Peabody, MA). Two further goals by Western New England would bring the score back to an even 8-8, but a second Hooper goal would again put Worcester on top. A free position shot would nearly tie it up again but a save from sophomore Cadence Oleniak (Hampton, NH) would hold the Lancer lead into halftime.

The Golden Bears would again tie the game up to start the third but Worcester would not settle and responded with two goals of their own, the first from Bowen while Witkowski would grab the hat trick with her third of the game. WNE would take another two minutes before cutting the lead to a single goal. With just over five minutes left in the quarter the game again found itself tied as Western New England recorded their 11th goal of the game.

Witkowski would reclaim the lead for Worcester in the fourth quarter, claiming the lead just under two minutes into the final quarter of regulation. Both teams' defenses stepped up to the mark to ensure neither team could go on an offensive run. Worcester would add another goal from Bowen as the Golden Bears added an additional score of their own on a free position attempt. What has been the tone of the late portion of this game the Golden Bears were able to force another tie with just over seven minutes to go as the game moved into the final minutes at 13-13. With four minutes to go Hooper would once again claim the lead in Worcester's name and the eventual victory after a back and forth tussle to wrap up the season opener.

Oleniak would close out the action with seven saves in the season opening win.

What's Next:

Worcester State (1-0, 0-0) is right back in road action on Saturday with a trip north to Southern Maine with a faceoff at 12pm.