Lancers Tackle Wildcats in Armit Tribute Game

Worcester, MA - This evening's game, the Worcester State Women's Lacrosse (2-2, 0-0) second home game of the season, was played in tribute to student athlete Evan Armit, who passed away last August after a courageous battle with metastatic melanoma. The team wore black ribbons and shirts in honor of Armit in tribute to his lasting legacy at Worcester State. The Lancers hosted the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales in an early week battle, and their last before the team heads on Spring break this weekend.

Final

Worcester State: 23

Johnson & Wales: 9 

How it Happened:

Worcester State scored its first points of the game when senior Mckayla Fisher (Peabody, MA) made her first basket with 14:25 remaining in the first quarter. Senior Shannon Donahue (Dennis, MA) scored for the Lancers when she received a pass from senior Molly Witkowski (Greenville, NY) to increase their score to 2–0 at 10:47. Johnson & Wales took control of the game after scoring three consecutive goals through Riley Shepley, Kelsey Higgins, and Cassie Burke. Worcester State recovered the lead when junior Madigan Kelley (Bourne, MA) scored two goals for them, one of which came from a first year Fallon Lozano (Upton, MA) assist. The Wildcats finished the quarter strong when Cassie Burke and Rhya Saloom scored goals after Riley Shepley provided assists, which resulted in Johnson & Wales taking a 6–4 advantage.

The second quarter began with Johnson & Wales extending its lead when Cassie Burke scored a man-up goal off a pass from Riley Shepley to make it 7–4. Worcester State responded with a strong run, beginning with goals from junior Kerry Brown (Billerica, MA) and senior Shannon Donahue (Dennis, MA) to cut the deficit to one. Witkowski  then tied the game at 7–7 with an assist from Lozano. The Lancers maintained their momentum during the quarter's conclusion when Donahue and Brown both scored again to establish a six-goal run that first-year Savannah Botthof (Chester, PA) completed with her buzzer goal, which gave Worcester State a 10–7 lead at halftime.

Worcester State maintained its third-quarter momentum by starting the period with five consecutive goals from junior Meghan Bowen (Westfield, MA) and Witkowski, first-year Maryl Hooper (Westminster, MA), and Kelley, which increased their advantage to 15–7. The Lancers reacted immediately after Johnson & Wales ended their scoring run through Bailey Paige's quarter midpoint goal. Worcester State increased its lead to 19–8 by the end of the third quarter through goals from Hooper, Kelley, Savannah Botthof, and Brown. 

Johnson & Wales opened the fourth quarter with a goal from Giovanna Gulinello off an assist from Kelsey Higgins to make it 19–9. Worcester State quickly responded as Fisher scored off a pass from Kelley, followed by another goal from Donahue. The Lancers extended their lead when Lozano scored midway through the quarter, and first-year Maddison Szala (Taunton, MA) completed the game with a goal, which Fisher assisted to help Worcester State achieve a 23–9 victory.

What's Next:

Worcester State (3-2, 0-0) takes the field in Hilton Head on Monday, March 16th, for a 10:30 am battle with Salve Regina.