Westfield State Earns Top Seed in 2023 MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament
After going 7-0 in MASCAC play, Westfield State earns the top seed in the 2023 MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament which begins on Tuesday, May 2 with the quarterfinal round.
After going 7-0 in MASCAC play, Westfield State earns the top seed in the 2023 MASCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament which begins on Tuesday, May 2 with the quarterfinal round.
Up first in the quarterfinals, #4 Worcester State will host #5 Salem State at 6 pm on Tuesday while #3 Framingham State hosts #6 Fitchburg State at 7. The winner of Fitchburg/Framingham will play top seed Westfield State at 7 pm while the winner of Salem/Worcester will face #2 Bridgewater State on Thursday, May 4 also at 7.
The two semifinal winners will then meet on Saturday, May 6 for the MASCAC Tournament title and the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.
Earning the regular season title for the second straight year, Westfield State was perfect in league action to take the top spot and a first round bye. The Owls are led by Emma Cretella who found the back of the net 52 times this season while also assisting on 19 goals. She shot 52.5 percent while collecting 57 draw controls, 17 ground balls and causing 15 turnovers.
Getting the other first round bye and second seed is Bridgewater State. The Bears were in a three-way tie at 5-2 at the end of the regular season. Delaney Langton led the team with 60 points on 34 goals and 26 assists. She also finished with 60 draw controls, 24 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
Hosting a quarterfinal game with the third seed is Framingham State. The Rams were also 5-2 during the league schedule. Reigning MASCAC Player of the Year Hannah Guerin leads the conference in goals with 66 while also registering 21 assists. She ended the regular season shooting 52.8 percent on 108 shots on goal. She had 18 ground balls, six caused turnovers and five draw controls this season too.
Garnering the other quarterfinal hosting duties is Worcester State with the fourth seed. The Lancers finished 5-2 to close out the MASCAC regular season. Clare Conway collected 49 goals and 17 assists on 117 shots. She scooped up 18 ground balls while adding 13 draw controls and five caused turnovers.
Rounding out the tournament field is Salem State and Fitchburg State with the fifth and sixth seed. The Vikings had three league wins and are led by Carson Reidy in goal. She ended the regular season first in the league in saves with 197 saves while also registering 13 goals against and six wins on the year. For the Falcons, Eva Kozikowski had the most goals on the team with 38 while also registering 19 assists. She collected 26 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers and a draw control.
During the 2022 tournament, second seed Framingham State defeated fourth seed Bridgewater State 18-10 to win their first ever MASCAC title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.