Field Hockey Wins MASCAC Title, 2-1 Over Bridgewater State

PHOTO GALLERY

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior forward Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) scored the game winning goal with 4:20 left in regulation to lift the Owls to the 2024 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title with a 2-1 win over Bridgewater State on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

With the win, the Owls improve to 13-8 and set a school record for wins, and earn the MASCAC's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division III Tournament.

Tied 1-1 throughout the second half, Murphy had several golden-opportunity chances in front of the net before eventually tallying the game winner.

Murphy found the back of the net, stepping in to a long ball from Sadie Stauffer (Suffield, Conn.) about three yards in front of the goal as the ball was batted around the critical scoring area.

"We've been a team that's been resilient and been able to change the narrative of a game throughout the season," said Westfield State second-year head coach Carden Brown.  "Going into the third and fourth quarter we were really focused on staying tough and knowing we'd get another goal if we just kept shooting."

Second-seeded Westfield survived one final flurry from the fifth-seeded Bears , as Bridgewater mustered a pair of penalty corners in the final four minutes, and Owls goalkeeper Emma Gnaidek (Worcester, Mass.) came up with the save on Kallie Rose's (Dartmouth, Mass.) shot with 1:52 left that represented the Bears best chance to equalize.

Westfield finished the game with a 25-7 advantage in total shots and a 13-3 margin in shots on goal, but the game was tightly played throughout as the Bears made the most of their opportunities and penalty corners were even at 8 each.

Westfield State jumped out to a 1-0 lead 2:20 into the contest, with Erin Lane (Canton, Mass.) pushing a shot through traffic about 10 yards out, from the left side to the back post.  The goal came off of a penalty corner, as Lane's initial foray was parried by a Bridgewater defender.   Murphy gathered the loose ball and fed it back out to Lane, and her shot worked its way through several players and past BSU goalkeeper Brianna Gagnon (Tewksbury, Mass.) for the 1-0 lead.

"It was really even, I thought Bridgewater played really well," said Brown.  "We knew they were going to be a tough opponent.  We wanted to have a fast start and sustain it throughout the game."

Bridgewater tied the game late in the first half, capitalizing on a penalty corner, with give and go passing at the top of the circle before Abbie Zuber's (Westport, Mass./Dartmouth) shot from the top of the circle was tipped in at the right post by Lexi James (Ipswich, Mass.).

Westfield State midfielder Abby Clark (Uxbridge, Mass.) was named the Tournament MVP.

"She's been a key player for us, she gets things done, and above all else elevates the energy level of the team, said Brown of Clark's performance. " When she's out there she's our biggest hustler, she works really hard. It was a very fitting award for her."

Gagnon finished with 11 saves for the Bears, while Gniadek made two saves for the Owls.

Bridgewater finishes its season at 10-9.

Westfield will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the Owls hosted the inaugural NCAA Division III Tournament final four in 1981.  The Owls will learn their destination and opponent on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. on a livestream shot on NCAA.com.

"We want to be a team that's not only just strong in the MASCAC but strong in the region," said Brown. "And I think in order to do that you have to compete in the NCAA tournament and keep improving each and every season.  I'm really excited and excited to see how we'll do."