WESTFIELD, Mass. –   Westfield State senior forward Cheryl Latona (Granby, Conn.) scored a pair of goals to lead the Owls to a 3-1 win over Fitchburg State in a Little East Conference field hockey game at Alumni Field on Wednesday night.

Westfield improves to 4-7 overall and 3-2 in the LEC, while Fitchburg dips to 1-10 overall and 0-5 in the LEC.

Latona got the Owls on the board first just 1:33 into the match, when Emily Martin (Southwick, Mass.) slid the ball to Latona  on the remnants of a penalty corner.

Fitchburg tied the game with 4:16 left in the second quarter, as Sophia Piper (Chelmsford, Mass.) sent a pass from the middle of the circle to Alexis Raymond (Tewksbury, Mass.) at the right post for the score.

Westfield grabbed the lead back with 1:08 left in the first half, as the Owls generated offensive pressure, with Lauren Champiny's (Somers, Conn.) point-blank shot rebounding off the pads of Fitchburg netminder Jenna Morse (Leominster, Mass./Lunenberg), but right to the Owls' Allie Giguere (Lynn, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) on the left side, and Giguere lifted a shot into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.

Westfield tacked on an insurance goal late, as Shannon Roycoft (Barnstable, Mass./Proctor Academy) fed a pass down the slot that Latona cashed in at the right post with three seconds left in the game for the 3-1 final. The goal was Latona's team-leading seventh of the season.

Westfield State had a 17-14 advantage in total shots, but a 14-6 margin in shots on goal.

Corners were even at 6-6, as the Falcons generated a series of penalty corners in the final 5.5 minutes, but were unable to capitalize.

Fitchburg got 11 saves from Morse, while Riley Goulet (Marion, Mass./Old Rochester) finished with five saves for Westfield State.

The Owls will next go on the road this weekend for a 1:00 p.m. start at Plymouth State on Saturday.