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Owls Women's Lacrosse Earns Title-Game Appearance

Haley Mate' is one of just five Owls who played in the 2019 MASCAC Title game, the last time the league had a championship due to the pandemic. (Photo courtesy Jeff Mate')
Haley Mate' is one of just five Owls who played in the 2019 MASCAC Title game, the last time the league had a championship due to the pandemic. (Photo courtesy Jeff Mate')

Westfield State women's lacrosse will play for the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title for the sixth-straight season, as the Owls will travel to Framingham State for the 2021 title game on Saturday, May 1, at 7:00 at Maple Street Field.

The Owls finished tied for first in the conference's regular season with a 3-1 record, alongside Worcester State and Framingham. Tiebreakers eliminated Worcester, and the Owls head-to-head loss to Framingham in the season-opening game proved to be the difference in determining the top seed and host site.

The Owls traveled to Framingham the last time the league had a championship game in 2019, and the underdog Owls prevailed 13-12 on that day.  The cast of characters will be different this time around, as Westfield has just just five players who played in that game, and the starting lineup has turned over completely in the last 24 eventful months.

Westfield is the three-time defending conference champion, absent the 2020 season, when the NCAA suspended seasons due to the pandemic.  The winner of Saturday's title game will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Westfield is led by senior midfielder Sam Donohoe, just two goals short of 100 for her career, and has 22 goals and five assists for the season.  Sophomore attacker Cassidy Harvey is the team's co-leader in points with 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points.

Defensively, the Owls have been backstopped by freshman goalkeeper Kara Banagan, who has posted an 8.57 goals –against average, and has a 54.9 save percentage.

Framingham finished the year 8-1 overall. The Rams score an average of 16.3 goals per game and allow opponents 8.49 goals per outing

Westfield fell to the Rams by a 13-9 count in the season opener this year, falling behind 7-1 early in the game before battling back.  Westfield was playing its first game of the season at that point after two previously-scheduled games were canceled due to covid protocols, while Framingham was playing its third game of the year.  Westfield hasn't lost since, rattling off seven straight wins from that point.

The league tournament was reduced to a single, #1 vs #2 championship game format, per the conference's return-to-play plan.

Live video coverage of the game will be available at www.MASCAC.tv, and on the MASCAC TV app on Roku and AppleTV devices.  Live stats will be available at www.WestfieldStateOwls.com