Framingham State and Westfield State are set to meet for the second straight year in the MASCAC Women's Lacrosse title game on Saturday after winning their semifinals contest on Thursday night.

#1 Framingham State 17, #4 Worcester State 11            Box Score

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University women's lacrosse team received six goals from sophomore Alissa Marino (Trumbull, Conn.) and eight assists from junior Grace Gamache(Dartmouth, Mass.) as the top seeded Rams defeated fourth seed Worcester State 17-11 in one semifinal of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament this evening at Maple Street Field.

• With the victory, the Rams advance and will host the finals of the MASCAC Tournament on Saturday and will face third seeded Westfield State who defeated Bridgewater State in the other semifinal this evening.
• Gamache tallied a pair of goals in the game and added eight assists which ties her single game assist mark that she established a year ago, while Marino added six goals, including the 100^th of her career, and two helpers.  Junior Nicole Pacheco (Woburn, Mass.) scored three times for the Rams.
• The Lancers got on the board first when junior Rachel Hopkins converted a free position shot just under four minutes into the game.
• The Rams answered with three straight taking a 3-1 advantage.  Marino converted off a feed from Gamache and junior Morgan Begley (Milton, Mass.) converted a free position shot.  Marino connected off another Gamache pass once again for the third of the spurt with 22 minutes on the clock.
• The Lancers tallied two straight tying the game at 3-3.  Junior Kelly Austin (Brimfield, Mass.) struck first off a feed from sophomore Coley Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) and then Hayes scored unassisted.
• The Rams responded with five straight taking an 8-3 lead with 7:10 on the clock, but the Lancers answered with two cutting the deficit back to three (8-5).
• The Rams closed the half with goals from freshman Tara Palermo (Mashpee, Mass.) and Marino to head to the half leading 10-5.
• The Rams pushed the lead to eight (15-7) midway through the second half, before two from the Lancers cut the deficit to 15-9. The Rams answered with goals from Marino and junior Perin Genaway (Hinsdale, Mass.) before the Lancers tallied two in the final 10 minutes to reach the final margin.
• Austin finished the game with four goals and an assist for the Lancers, while Hayes finished with three goals and a helper.
• Senior Indigo Fox Tree-McGrath (Bedford, Mass.) earned the win in net for the Rams and made three saves, while Chloe O'Brien made one save for the Lancers.

The Rams are back in action on Saturday in the finals of the 2019 MASCAC Tournament when they host third seed Westfield State at 1 p.m. at Maple Street Field.

#3 Westfield State 14, #2 Bridgewater State 8          Box Score

WESTFIELD, Mass -   Westfield State got three goals each from three different players and senior goalie Maria Woodallstood tall in net as third-seeded Westfield State posted a 14-8 win over second-seeded Bridgewater State in the semifinals of the MASCAC women's lacrosse tournament at Swenson Field in Bridgewater on Thursday evening.

The Owls advance to play top-seeded Framingham State on Saturday at Framingham at 1:00 p.m., with the winner of that game earning the conference title and the league's automatic bid in the NCAA Championship.

Westfield State won its fifth straight game and their eighth in their last 10 to improve to 10-9 overall, while Bridgewater's season comes to a close with a 12-5 mark.

Westfield jumped on top early as Sydney Lambert got the Owls on the board first just 1:12 into the game, then Lucy Barrett faked left and drove right for 2-0 Owls lead.

The game tightened up in the middle stages, as the Bears tied the game at 4-4 with 5:53 left in the first half, but the Owls grabbed a 6-4 lead at the half, scoring with nine seconds left in the opening stanza as Barrett fed Alexa Tonelli for the goal.

Goals from Elizabeth Navoni and Rachel Gelina extended the Owls to 9-5 less than six minutes into the second half, but Bridgewater again responded, netting back to back goals and Elizabeth Ettridge's marker with 23:31 left forced an Owls timeout.

From there, the Owls gradually extended their lead, and the lead ballooned to five goals, with a fast break goal as Caroline Arket carried the ball up field, found Haley Mate' with a pass, and Mate' served Gelina crashing the net from the right side for a 12-7 Owls lead and forced the Bears into a time out of their own with 12:57 left in the game.

The Owls held the Bears at bay with strong defensive play, and Woodall was credited with nine saves as the lead was never seriously threatened in the final 10 minutes of play. 

Gelina, Tonelli and Lambert each scored three goals for the Owls.   Lambert moves into fourth on the Owls all-time scoring list with 210 career points.  Sam Donohoeadded two goals and Barrett a goal and two assists. Westfield had a 23-17 advantage in shots on goal and forced 22 turnovers while committing just 10 themselves.

Victoria McDonough netted four goals and an assist for Bridgewater, with Ettridge adding three goals. Bears goalkeeper Hayley Varner made nine saves.

The Bears offense came in averaging more than 13 goals per game, and had defeated the Owls 13-12 on March 30 in the conference opener for both teams.

Westfield will be making its fifth straight appearance in the MASCAC Championship game under head coach Jeff Pechulis.  The Owls are 2-2 in those title tilts, winning the 2017 and 2018 titles.­­­

Westfield fell to Framingham, 10-9 in overtime in the only meeting between the two schools this year, at Framingham on April 16.   The Owls and Rams met in the 2018 MASCAC championship game at Westfield, with the Owls emerging a 17-10 winner to claim their second straight MASCAC title.

Releases courtesy of Framingham State and Westfield State Sports Information