Click here for Worcester State-Massachusetts Maritime box score

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Courtesy Worcester State Sports Information

#3 Worcester State 13, #6 Massachusetts Maritime 4

Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Molly Kilday (Westford, MA) tied season highs with five goals and seven points and freshman Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) added a hat-trick as they helped lead third-seeded Worcester State to a 13-4 victory over #6 Mass Maritime in the opening round of the MASCAC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament this evening.

The Lancers (12-4) move on to play at second-seeded Westfield State in the semifinals on Thursday at 7 PM while the Buccaneers finish their season at 2-12.

The postseason conference tournament win for the Blue and Gold ended a two-game skid as their last victory came in at 12-6 New England Women’s Lacrosse Alliance semifinals win against Castleton State in 2007.

Mass Maritime senior Shelagh Hogan (N. Andover, MA) helped stake the early advantage for the visitors 2½ minutes into the contest before Kilday netted a pair 16 seconds apart to give the Lancers the 2-1 lead.

Hogan potted another with 21:14 on the clock to even up the score 2-2, but then Kilday, Connors and freshman Kalia Chase (Northbridge, MA) helped the Lancers go on a 3-0 mini run for the 5-2 score with 16:11 left to play in the first half.

Buccaneer freshman Janine Prokscha (Washington, CT) tacked on a free position marker four minutes later, but Connors, Kilday and sophomore Michelle Tully (Tewksbury, MA) ended the frame with goals for the 8-3 edge at the intermission.

Five different goal scorers for Worcester State helped the hosts close out the game with a 5-1 spurt for the final score.

Chase and Connors both finished with three helpers each as Connors made a difference with a season-best eight ground balls and four draws.

The back line of sophomore Sam Erwin (Attleboro, MA), freshman MacKenzie Callini (W. Springfield, MA), first-year Katelyn Murphy (Billerica, MA) and senior Stacey Doherty (Westford, MA) combined to amass 14 ground balls.

Connors also reset the single-season mark for ground balls (57) and caused turnovers (23) while her 44 draws are third-most in one campaign. Junior Vicki O’Brien (Canton, MA) chipped in one goal and one assist to move into eighth on the all-time scoring list and sophomore Jaclyn Lawlor (Westford, MA) is now alone in 10th place.

Mass Maritime freshman Shavonne Boyle (Doylstown, PA) picked up a career-best eight ground balls as senior Kim Courcy (Warwick, RI) registered six on the ground and she forced a pair of miscues.

WSU senior net minder Alex Chisholm (N. Brookfield, MA) finished with a trio of saves and four ground balls. Sophomore Deb Langley (Abington, MA) turned aside 11 shots in the setback for the Buccaneers.

The Lancers led in shots (33-13), ground balls (46-34) and draws (12-7) while the squad was effective on clears (13-for-15).

Courtesy Fitchburg State Sports Information

#4 Fitchburg State 16, #5 Salem State 15 (2OT)

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 30, 2013) – Fourth-seeded Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team registered three goals over the course of two overtimes to knock off fifth-seeded Salem State University in opening round action of the 2013 MASCAC women’s lacrosse tournament.

With the victory, Fitchburg State (6-11, 3-3 MASCAC) advances to the semifinal round of the 2013 MASCAC tournament to face top-seeded Bridgewater State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Salem State concludes the 2013 season with an overall record of 4-10 and a 1-5 mark in the MASCAC.

Fitchburg State held a two goal advantage after one period play (6-4) as it opened the contest with three consecutive goals from junior Chelsea Roberts (Newburyport, Mass.), senior Jessica Bartlett (Marlborough, Mass.) and Kristin Dooley (Salem, Mass.). The Vikings battled back, using a nine goal second half to knot the score at 13-13 and force a pair of three minute overtimes.

In the extra frames, the Falcons struck first as sophomore Lindsay White (Hanover, Mass.) found the back of the net with a feed from Markie Apple (Pittsfield, Mass.) at the 2:39 mark. A goal from Rachel Clasby (Northbridge, Mass.) knotted the contest at 14-14, but back-to-back scores from Apple and Roberts gave Fitchburg State a two-goal advantage heading into the final three minutes of play.

Over the final extra frame, Fitchburg State turned to its possession style offense and kept the ball away from Salem for much of the period. A Bartlett target midway through the period nearly clinched the contest for the Falcons, but her attempt nipped the post to keep the Vikings deficit to only two.

In transition, Salem State inched closer as Kelsey Russell (Arlington, Mass.) buried a free-position shot with just 0:29 left, but Fitchburg State capitalized on the draw to maintain possession advantage. A turnover in the closing seconds gave the Vikings one last attempt at the equalizer, but Leslie Jaffie (Hicksville, N.Y.) came up big with a groundball at midfield to end any comeback hope.

Roberts led the Fitchburg State offense, posting five points with four goals and one assist, while Bartlett added five points as well with a trio of scores and a pair of helpers. Apple was also solid with three goals and one dish.

The Vikings received a strong offensive output from senior Kristen Cahoon (Reading, Mass.) who notched a game-high five goals, while classmate Bridgett Dullea (Peabody, Mass.) added a game-best six points with three scores and three helpers.

For the game, Fitchburg State out-shot Salem 39-24 while dominating the draw with a 24-11 advantage. Freshman Elizabeth Darrigo (Billerca, Mass.) lifted the Falcons to their first playoff victory in program history with seven saves, while freshman Alex Varoutsos (Woburn, Mass.) stopped 18 shots for the visitors.