Sam Donohoe (file photo)
Posted: Apr 08, 2021
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University women's lacrosse team fell to Westfield State University 7-2 Thursday evening in a low-scoring Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at John F. Coughlin Memorial Field.
With the result, both teams move to identical 3-1 overall records with 2-1 records in MASCAC play. The loss is Worcester State's first of the season after a 3-0 start.
A pair of Sam Donohoe (Pepperell, Mass.) goals opened the scoring on the evening, as the senior netted unassisted tallies in the game's fifth and 11th minutes.
Worcester State however had a quick response to Donohoe's second goal, as sophomore Emily Pavoni (Granby, Mass.) responded just 41 seconds later to cut the deficit to 2-1. Senior Kylie Hill (Lunenburg, Mass.) picked up an assist on Pavoni's fifth goal of the season. Westfield State would score the last two goals of the second half however, as Donohoe completed her hat trick and Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.) found the back of the net before the halftime horn.
Nearly fifteen minutes were played in the second half before either team found the net, when sophomore Nikki Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.) extended the Owl lead to 5-1. Classmate Cassidy Connolly (Woburn, Mass.) added to Westfield's lead with just under nine minutes to play, before sophomore Lily Gendron (Lakeville, Mass.) got one back for the Lancers with 7:11 to go. Rinkus would net her second of the game in the final minute to close out the conference win for the visitors.
Both goalkeepers came up huge for their respective teams, led by first-year Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.) who earned her first collegiate win with a nine-save effort for Westfield. The Owls have stymied opponents defensively, allowing just 5.75 goals per game this season, and held the Lancers to just 11 shots on goal on the evening.
Worcester State senior Chloe O'Brien (Sturbridge, Mass.) was strapped with the hard-luck loss, making 11 saves for the hosts.
The teams will play again on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game can be streamed live at MASCAC.tv.
-- story courtesy Worcester State Sports info