Westfield State 4, Framingham State 0 Box Score

Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass. - Senior midfielder Sarah Sypek scored a pair of goals and Westfield State tallied twice in the first 10 minutes of the match as the Owls defeated the Framingham State Rams 4-0 in the semi-final round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Soccer Tournament. With the victory the Owls advance to championship game Sunday at #1 seed Worcester State. 

The Owls opened up scoring in the in the eighth minute when sophomore Nicole Gay (Hatfield, Mass) headed in a right side corner kick from senior Amanda Grant (Westfield, Mass). Gay's header went to the far post and deflected in off of the crossbar.

Westfield found the back of the net again just over a minute later when senior Ashleigh Chretien (North Attleboro, Mass) played a ball through the right side that Sypek was able to run on to, bending an outswinging shot toward the left post from the top of the 18 on the right side. Sypek's shot deflected off the hands of Rams goalkeeper Sara Sullivan for a 2-0 lead just 9:42 into the match.

In the 20^th minute Sypek found the back of the net again when she scored after a well-timed give and go from Amanda Grant. Grant again slotted a ball through on the right side for Sypek to run on to, this time with Sypek's shot cleanly finding the left side netting.

"I thought it was a very impressive way to start the game," said Owls' head coach Todd Ditmar. "Ashleigh and Sara did a great job of controlling the midfield and Amanda Grant was impressive with her passing. I was pleased with how good our goals were."

Sypek's second goal was her 20^th of the season, tying Kayley Miller '12 for the Owls single-season record.

With just over thirteen minutes remaining in the first half the Owls extended the lead to 4-0 when junior Ashley Bovat (Westfield, Mass) scored by redirecting a long lead pass around the Rams keeper, Grant was again credited with the assist.

The Rams best chance to score was in the final minute of play when the freshman Darby Andersson (Plymouth, Mass) took a shot which was saved by the Owls keeper Anne Stack (East Longmeadow, Mass). The shot generated a rebound which was headed back towards the net by sophomore Marissa Miele (Hudson, Mass) and saved again by Stack.

Sophomore Sara Sullivan (Quincy, Mass) made six saves in net for the Rams. Stack made six saves in the victory for the Owls.

Westfield was facing the Rams for the second time in less than a week, having defeated Framingham 3-2 last Saturday to earn the right to host this game.
"We had to make some changes in the back with Lauren McLaughlin out, but Katy Knight really stepped up and matched up with Marisa Parent. Overall we marked well in the back and we really didn't allow many shots for the first three-quarters of the game," said Ditmar.

The Rams close the season with an overall record of 12-7. The Owls improve to 12-4-2 and advance to the MASCAC Championship at #1 Worcester State at noon on Sunday

"I think the team is excited to get to face Worcester State again," said Ditmar. "They know that we didn't play our best game when we lost there a few weeks ago. But they are fired up knowing that we have a chance to go to the NCAA's with a win. We had the same situation three years ago and Kayley Miller got a big gola that put us into the NCAA's, so we know it can be done. We'll have to do a good job of controlling the midfield and marking Alicia Macomber" - the conference's player of the year.

Worcester State 2, Bridgewater State 1 OT Box Score

Worcester, Mass. ---  Junior Alicia Macomber (Stoughton, MA) netted both goals – including the game winning goal 1:22 into overtime – to help propel top-seeded Worcester State to a 2-1 victory over #5 Bridgewater State in the semifinals of the MASCAC Women’s Soccer Tournament this evening at Coughlin Field.

The Lancers (13-3-1) move on to the conference tournament championship game on Sunday as they will entertain second-seeded Westfield State at 12 PM. The Owls defeated #3 Framingham State in the other semifinal matchup, 4-0. The Bears finished their 2014 league playoff run at 6-12-1 overall making their 15th consecutive MASCAC Tournament appearance.

Tonight's contest was a rematch of last years tournament title game which saw Bridgewater State defeat Worcester State, 3-1, for the crown.

The Bears broke into the scoring column in the 12th minute when junior Carolyn Sessler (Plymouth, MA/South) found an open senior Lauren Bandoian (Medford, MA) with a pass from the near side to the far side of the field. Bandoian then collected the ball and fired a shot that missed the fingertips of the netminder and caromed off the top of the crossbar into the net.

Worcester State evened the contest four minutes later on a lead pass by senior Alyssa Sawyer (W. Springfield, MA) as she connected with Macomber up the right side of the net. Macomber then dribbled into the right side of the box and blasted a shot past the goalie to the top left corner.

On a breakaway to start off the second half, Worcester State had a golden opportunity to go up by one goal. Sawyer was alone on the far side, however, her attempt was rejected by the Bridgewater State back line and a rebound to senior Shelby Archer (Dayville, CT) was also knocked out of harm’s way by another defender.

With 20 minutes remaining in regulation, Bridgewater State senior Mackenzie Hatfield (Feeding Hills, MA) found space on the right side of the net and uncorked a shot from 15 yards out, but junior goalkeeper Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, MA) preserved the contest and made one of her three saves on the evening.

After missing numerous opportunities to score in the second half, Macomber ended the contest in the 92nd minute as she took a feed from Archer to the left of the net and finished a rocket to the bottom right corner of the net for her sixth match clinching tally of the campaign.

Worcester State finished with the 28-9 edge in shots (17-2 in second half) and the 11-1 margin in corner kicks.

Junior Kristin Kreardon (Weymouth, MA) ended her night with nine saves for the visitors in the tough luck setback.

With her two markers this evening Macomber tied and set the program record for the most goals in a single season which had previously held by Vanessa Vallee (1998). She is just one away from tying the MASCAC lead in the category.