Gniadek, Lane Power Owls to Shootout Victory at Salem

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior goalkeeper Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) stopped all five shots in the penalty shootout and Erin Lane (Canton, Mass.) scored the game-winning penalty try to lead the Owls to a 3-2 victory over Salem State in a MASCAC battle from Salem, Mass. on Tuesday night.

The game could not be decided through sixty minutes of regulation time and twenty minutes of overtime, setting up a penalty shootout session between the two teams.

Salem began the shootout, beginning with Lexi Ford (Methuen, Mass.) who drove towards the goal and fired a high shot that was swatted down and out of play by Gniadek.

Lane followed for the Owls, engaging Vikings goalkeeper Izzy Mosley (Middleborough, Mass.) before quickly switching from her forehand to backhand, tucking a shot past the diving Mosley to put Westfield in front 1-0.

Both team's second, third and fourth attempts were saved by their respective keepers with Gniadek collecting a pair of point-blank stops on the third attempt of the shootout to deny Alexia Hamilton (Burlington, Mass.) on the Vikings second try.

The penalty shootout score remained 1-0 entering the fifth and final round. Mosley made a save for Salem, giving her team an opportunity to tie the shootout to extend the frame. Vikings midfielder Hannah Cochran (Marshfield, Mass.) attempted the one-on-one, driving to the net and drawing a foul on Gniadek, initiating a penalty stroke shot.

With the game on the line, Cochran fired a shot towards the middle of the net with Gniadek dropping to her knees to save a low shot heading towards the five-hole to secure the victory for Westfield in what turned out to be a marathon affair in the eastern part of the state.

The Owls worked their way to a two-goal lead in the second half. With less than ten minutes to play in the second quarter, Westfield found the opening goal of the match with Annalise Lopes (Plymouth, Mass.) centering a pass into the middle of the Vikings circle where Lane corralled the pass and deposited her first marker of the season.

2:32 into the second half, the Owls doubled their advantage as Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) collected a pass from Meredith Higgins (Enfield, Conn.) for her conference-leading seventh tally of the season, pushing the lead to 2-0.

The Vikings chipped away at the deficit, with Ford finding the first goal for Salem off of a penalty corner attempt, cutting the Owls lead to 2-1 shortly after the Murphy goal.

Westfield maintained a one-goal lead late into the fourth quarter until the Vikings capitalized on another penalty corner attempt with Allison Thomas (Carver, Mass.) tying the game on a deflected shot with 2:14 left in regulation.

The Owls received a pair of corner attempts with less than a minute to play in the game, but were unable to convert on either chance, sending the game to overtime.

The first overtime period was dominated by the Owls with the majority of the possession in the Owls attacking end of the field. Westfield was awarded six penalty corners in the first overtime, with one ending on what appeared to be the game-winning goal from Abby Clark (Uxbridge, Mass.) which was then called back.

In the second overtime, Sadie Stauffer (Suffield, Conn.) controlled play at the midfield and passed ahead to a dashing Clark, setting up a two-on-one opportunity but both shots were saved by Mosley, extending the game into the penalty shootout frame.

The Owls finished the game with a heavy shot advantage (33-14) and from the fourth quarter on, the Owls outshot the Vikings 24-9. Mosley was peppered in net throughout and made 22 straight saves from the third period through the shootout, piling up 27 saves on the night.

Gniadek got stronger in net as the game progressed, most notably in the penalty shootout where the Vikings were unable to get one past the junior netminder. She picked up her fourth victory of the season, generating 11 saves for the Owls which move to 2-1 in the conference and 4-6 overall.

Westfield State remains on the road for their next game as the Owls travel to Western Connecticut for a non-conference game at 6:00 P.M.