Women's Lacrosse Advances to NEWLA Title Game

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Senior attack Jenny Jones (Framingham, Mass.) tallied six goals and two assists to lead the top-seeded Bridgewater State Bears to a convincing 17-2 victory over fourth seeded Westfield State in the semifinal round of the 2011 New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) Tournament on Wednesday night at Swenson Field.

Bridgewater (16-1) will advance to the NEWLA Championship game for the fourth straight season as the Bears will host number two seed Castleton State on Saturday at 2:00 PM. Castleton edged third-seeded Fitchburg State in the other semifinal matchup, 17-13.

BSU Head Coach Erika Smith became the all-time winningest coach in program history with the victory as she surpassed Josh Hexter (72-42) with her 73rd career win (73-31).  The Bears also set the program single-season mark with their 16th win.  The  previous record of 15 was originally set in 2008 and equaled in 2010.

The Bears held the edge in play throughout the contest and stymied the Owls defensively. Bridgewater limited the visitors to just 11 shots for the game and just one free position attempt.

Sophomore attack Jill Caramello (Duxbury, Mass.) got the scoring started with her first of five goals on the evening at the 23:34 mark of the first half. Jones would find the back of the net four times in the opening stanza and senior midfielder Courtney Lennon (Medfield, Mass.) would add a pair as the Bears took an 8-1 lead into the intermission.

Bridgewater would run off the first nine goals of the second half before Westfield senior attack Laura Chiricosta (Lexington, Mass.) tallied a late marker to account for the final score of 17-2. Caramello scored four times in the final 30 minutes while Jones notched a pair of goals.

Along with the eight-point performance from Jones, the Bears also received two goals and four assists from junior attack Kristin White (Pelham, Mass.). Lennon finished with three goals, while senior Bethany Bush (Littleton, Mass.) and sophomore Shelby Farland (Fiskdale, Mass.) each forced three turnovers.

Senior netminder Katie Weber (Arlington, Mass.) turned aside seven shots to post her school record-setting 16th win of the season.  Weber eclipsed Meghan Griffin's 2010 mark of 15 goaltending victories.

Westfield sophomore goalie Jill Robinson (Salem, Mass.) made six saves between the pipes for the Owls.

Bridgewater held a 27-11 shot advantage for the game as well as a 15-6 edge in controlled draws.  The Bears also converted 4 of 5 free position attempts, while the Owls were 0-for-1. 

The Bears will be looking to capture their fourth straight NEWLA Tournament title and sixth overall.  Bridgewater and Castleton will also be meeting in the championship game for the fourth year in a row.