The Bridgewater State Bears and Worcester State Lancers have advanced to the semifinal round of the MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament after winning their respective quarterfinal games on Tuesday night.

#3 Bridgewater State 22, #6 Salem State 8  Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Third-seeded Bridgewater State University breezed to a 22-8 victory over #6 Salem State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2015 MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.

With the win, the Bears (10-8) advance to the semifinal round on Thursday night at seven o'clock against second-seeded Fitchburg State University. The Vikings end the season with an overall record of 8-10.

Junior midfield Lauren Geary (Hull, Mass.) paced the hosts with six goals, seven ground balls, three caused turnovers and a season-high 14 draw controls. With her six goals, Geary reach the 200-point milestone as she now has 201 points (155 G, 46 A) in three seasons with the Bears.

Sophomore attack Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) tallied a game-high nine points on five goals and four assists, while junior attack Marissa Yowell (Ashland, Mass.) added five goals and a helper to go along with five ground balls.

Senior attack Riley Cachelin (Westwood, Mass.) chipped in with a goal and four assists. With her four assists, Cachelin increased her season total to 58 as she eclipsed Shannon Manning's single-season school mark of 57 set back in 2010.

Bridgewater scored the first seven goals of the contest to take a commanding 7-0 lead midway through the first half. Geary potted three goals during the run and Yowell added a pair.

Salem answered quickly tallying four straight goals in less than four minutes to cut the deficit to 7-4. Senior midfielder Kelsey Russell (Arlington, Mass.) got the visitors on the board at the 15:37 mark, while senior defender Kristina Ventura (Billerica, Mass.) sandwich two goals around an Erin Riley (Wakefield, Mass.) strike.

The Bears would outscored the Vikings 5-2 over the final ten minutes of the opening stanza to take a 12-6 lead into halftime.

Bridgewater carried the momentum into the second half scoring the first five goals of the period, including two by Renauld, to put the game out of reach. Cachelin's record-breaking assist came on Renauld's opening strike of the half.

The BSU defense held the Vikings to just two goals over the final 30 minutes. Salem recorded only five shots in the half and were limited to just three draw controls.

The Bears connected on the final four goals of the game to open up their biggest lead of the night. Geary's free position tally with 2:37 remaining put the finishing touches on the win.

All told, the Bears held a 42-17 shot advantage for the game as well as a 23-9 edge in draws.

Russell finished with two goals and three assists to lead the way for Salem, while Ventura and Riley notched two goals apiece.

Sophomore attack Alex King (Weymouth, Mass.) checked in with three goals and an assist for the Bears, and classmate Alex Lynch (Plainville, Mass.) added a pair of scoring strikes.

BSU sophomore netminder Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) turned aside five shots to record her eighth win of the season. Sophomore Chyenne Jackson (Peabody, Mass.) made 12 saves in the setback for the Vikings.

#4 Worcester State 16, #5 Framingham State 5 Box Score

Worcester, MA --- Junior Kaila Chase (Northbridge, MA) potted a game-best five goals with one assist and five ground balls to help propel fourth-seeded Worcester State past #5 Framingham State, 16-5, in the quarterfinals of the MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament this evening at Coughlin Field.

The Lancers (13-5), who tied their program record for wins in a season, move on to play top-seeded Westfield State on Thursday in a 7 PM meeting. The Rams end their year at 9-8 overall.

Junior Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) two goals, five draws and a pair of caused turnovers while senior Jackie Lawlor (Westford, MA) forced a trio of turnovers and she picked up five ground balls. Senior Angela Grassetti (Feeding Hills, MA) also collected four points on two goals and a pair of assists.

For Framingham State, senior Zoe Reilly (Boyertown, PA) and junior Stephanie Leonard (Framingham, MA) both deposited two goals each as the pair combined for seven of their squads 10 draws.

Sophomore Lindsay Nixon (Woburn, MA) and classmate Tori Lane (W. Newbury, MA) each registered three ground balls apiece.

After Reilly and Leonard went back-to-back put the Rams up by two just three minutes into the game, Chase and senior Molly Kilday (Westford, MA) came right back with markers of their own to tie the game up 2-2 at the 24:54 mark.

Leonard notched her second of the contest moments later, but then the hosts used a furious 6-0 run to go ahead 8-3 with 8:02 remaining in the opening frame. Grassetti and sophomore Alaina Martin (E. Longmeadow, MA) both had one goal and an assist in the spurt.

Freshman Morghan Cassella (Lowell, MA) sliced the deficit in half to respond, but the Lancers netted two of the last three goals to open up a 10-5 lead at the intermission.

Worcester State's back line was outstanding in the second stanza as they held the Rams scoreless in the final 30 minutes of regulation. The Lancers outscored their opponents 6-0 and put the game into running time with 9:39 left.

Sophomore Lea Robichaud (Holden, MA) was also a stalwart between the pipes as she stopped all six shots she saw on net in the final period, before giving way to classmate Krissy Pessa (Walpole, MA) who made one save in the last minute of the contest.

Robichaud (13-5) tied her own record for goalie wins in a single season while she finished with nine saves overall. Framingham State junior Alysha Cericola (Waltham, MA) rejected 15 shots and she had four ground balls, defensively.

The Lancers led in shots on goal (31-15), draws (13-10), ground balls (33-24) and were effective on clears (12-for-17 – 9-for-10 in second half).

For the third straight year, Worcester State tied their own program standard for wins in a season, accomplishing the feat in 2013 and again this past year.

Courtesy of Bridgewater State and Worcester State Sports Information