Worcester, MA- On a repeat of last season's MASCAC semifinal meeting, the Worcester State Lancers Women's Soccer team (9-5-3, 4-2-1) will again make the trip to Westfield State (10-4-4, 6-1) in an endeavor to come away with the victory and a return trip to the MASCAC Championship, their first since meeting Westfield in 2021. The past three MASCAC post seasons have seen the Owls claim the edge over the Lancers, and this afternoon Worcester is looking for vengeance.

Final

Worcester State: 0

Westfield State: 3

How it Happened:

The first half action was an evenly matched back and forth battle between these two foes, who have seen more of each other in the last few years than most other teams. The Owls would grab two early corner kicks to get the action started early on the pitch which were each followed up with attempts on cage with the first sailing wide and the second corralled by sophomore Ella Gumienny (Douglas, MA). It would take over 18 minutes before Worcester would have their first scoring chance as sophomore Ava Lemanski (Clinton, MA) would send a solid attempt at cage that was snatched by the Owl's Julia Robak.tensions and energy were high through the opening 45 minutes with three more attempt by the Lancers to grab the edge before the clock would tick down to 0:00 and see a 0-0 score into halftime.

The second half would see Worcester receive their first corner kick of the game  but Lemanski's shot was blocked and the quick transition on the rebound would have the Owls with a break away possession down the field launching an attempt that was knocked out by Gumienny. The ensuing corner kick though would lead to a header off the crossbar that would fall directly onto the foot of Delaney Parker who quickly sent the ball right back at cage for the opening score of the match. With just under a quarter of action left, the Owls would find another set piece goal, this time as Morgan Berthiaume would send in the release from Kylie Tomasetti to claim the 2-0 advantage. In the final five minutes Westfield would record their last goal of the game as Parker would look to beat Gumienny to the left, instead finding the post, which would land the ball perfectly for Berthiaume to take a few steps and send the ball into the near post for the 3-0 lead. 

Gumienny had a standout performance behind her stalwart defense on the day, ending the match with nine saves in the complete action.

What's Next:

Westfield will now await the winner of the second MASCAC semi final meeting between Fitchburg State and Bridgewater to see who will be hosting the MASCAC Championship on Sunday.