WESTFIELD, Mass. — Westfield State junior Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) scored two goals to help propel Westfield State to a 4-0 win over Bridgewater State in a MASCAC game on Saturday afternoon from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.
The Owls improve to 6-6 on the year and 3-1 in the MASCAC while the Bears fall to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the league.
From the opening face-off, the Owls controlled possession as they outshot the Bears 10-2 in the first half.
Half way through the first quarter, Leah Pierce (Barnstable, Mass.) broke the silence at Alumni Field with a score off an assist from Erin Lane (Canton, Mass.). The opportunity arose from a penalty corner awarded to the Owls as Pierce redirected a pass from Lane and into the net. Westfield outnumbered Bridgewater's penalty corners 15-6.
Not even two minutes later, Murphy netted her first. The offense sparked from a Bridgewater turnover that allowed Westfield to push the ball upfield. The ball ended up on the stick of Pierce, who ended up finding Murphy for her first of the afternoon.
As the first half winded down with no scores in the second quarter, Lane grabbed a rebound off Bears goalie Brianna Gagnon (Tewksbury, Mass.) and notched her second point of the day, driving the Westfield lead to three goals with 37 seconds left in the third.
Ahead 3-0, the Owls increased their advantage with Murphy taking advantage of a rebound opportunity and depositing her league-leading tenth goal of the year to open up a 4-0 lead for Westfield to seal the conference win.
On the other end of the field, Owls goalie Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) stopped six shots on net, and did not let one passed her to add her first shutout of the season to her resume.
The Owls now have a week break as they do not return to action until Saturday, October 12 at 3:30 p.m. from Alumni Field as they host MASCAC opponent Framingham State. Bridgewater State will host Fitchburg State in a MASCAC contest on Saturday at 4:00 P.M.
Written by Hunter Briggs – WSU Sports Information Graduate Assistant