Women’s Lacrosse Drops Season Opener at #18 MIT

WESTFIELD, Mass. – MIT junior Annica Lam (Livingston, N.J.) scored a game-leading five goals as the 18^th-ranked Engineers defeated Westfield State 16-5 in the Owls season opener on the road Saturday afternoon.

Five different Owls found the back of the net with Emma Prattson (Tolland, Conn.) scoring a goal and an assist. Mykenzie Black (Hopedale, Mass.) added two assists and five draw controls.

The Engineers built up a four-goal lead after the first quarter with Ashley Thomas (Summit, N.J.) tallying twice. MIT added another six goals in the second period with Lam finishing the scoring with a pair of goals the Engineers outshot Westfield 24-5 in the first 30 minutes to take a 10-0 lead into the break.

Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) got the scoring started for the Owls in the third quarter with Black finding DeMaio for Westfield's first goal of the season. 1:06 after the DeMaio goal, Kylie Buchanan (Westfield, Mass.) delivered a player-up marker with 7:50 left in the third.

In the final frame, sophomores' Willow Romo (Marlboro, Vt.) and Ashley D'Elia (Watertown, Conn.) found the back of the cage with Prattson registering the Owls final goal of the afternoon.

Sydney Smith (Dalton, Mass.) and Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.) split time in net with Smith getting the start, making five saves while Banagan entered in the second half to make five stops on net as well. Pauline Vien (Brookline, Mass.) got the win for MIT, making four saves in the first half.

MIT outshot Westfield 37-13 for the game and also held a 15-8 draw control advantage.

Westfield State (0-1) will travel to Skidmore College for their next game on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M.