Women's Lacrosse Advances to MASCAC Tournament Title Game

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- Third-seeded Bridgewater State University posted a 19-11 win over #2 Fitchburg State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament semifinal round contest on Thursday night at Elliot Field.

The Bears (11-8) ended the contest on a 6-0 run to advance to their eighth consecutive tournament championship game, as they will travel to top-seeded Westfield State University on Saturday. Game time is slated for 1:00 PM.

Marissa Yowell paced Bridgewater State with a season-high seven goals and eight points, while Lauren Geary filled the stat sheet with three goals, an assist, five ground balls, nine draw controls and two caused turnover.

Melissa Renauld added four goals for the Bears and Riley Cachelin chipped in with a goal and five assists. Alex King checked in with three goals and a helper. 

In a closely contested first half, Bridgewater State broke the five-minute scoreless tie with a goal by King off an assist by Yowell. The Falcons responded with a pair of goals by Jaimee Lutz and Ali Laferriere to take an early 2-1 advantage.

Midway though the opening stanza the scoring came in bunches with both teams netting a pair of goals each.

With 8:39 on the clock the Bears went on a 3-0 run to regain the lead, including a pair of goals by Renauld with Cachelin assisting on both tallies. 

Kayla Panek would find the back of the net with just over three minutes remaining in the first half to cut the Falcons deficit to 11-9 heading into halftime.

In a back and forth battle in the beginning of the second half, both teams exchanged two goals apiece to bring the score up to 13-11 before Bridgewater State would pull away with a six goal barrage.

Yowell found the back of the net at the 13:12 mark to start the 6-0 streak, as she went on to add two more to add to the Bears lead.

Fitchburg State was held scoreless over the last 15 minutes of play. BSU netminder Allie Forman stopped all seven shots she faced (including three on the free position) over the final 15 minutes.

Forman equaled her season-high with 19 saves in the win, while her counterpart Elizabeth Darrigo stopped 15 shots in the losing effort.

Laferriere led the Falcons with five goals and one assist, while Comeau had a pair of tallies and one helper.

Bridgewater State held a 38-33 edge in shots, while the hosts held the advantage in draw-controls, 17-15. The Bears converted 7 of 9 free position attempts, while the Falcons went just 1-for-8.

With the loss the Green & Gold end their season with 14-4 record, which is a program high in victories.

Bridgewater State is in search of its eighth consecutive conference championship dating back to when the teams played in the New England Women's Lacrosse Association (NEWLA) until 2013.