WESTFIELD, Mass. – The top seeded Westfield State women's lacrosse team will host fourth seeded Bridgewater State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal game on Thursday at 7:00 P.M. from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. The Owls received a first round bye in the first round of the tournament for clinching the number one seed in the conference.
Westfield State enters the postseason after a perfect month of April in which the Owls went 9-0, including a 7-0 record against MASCAC opponents. The Owls and the Bears faced-off in the conference opener on Saturday, April 2 where the Owls won the game 13-7. Junior attacker Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.) led the Owls with four goals while junior Emma Cretella (Cheshire, Conn.) tallied three goals and an assist. Bridgewater first-year Nina Liquori (Agawam, Mass.) collected two goals and an assist in the contest.
During the regular season, Cretella led the Owls in points on the year with 51 points. She scored the second most goals (35) and the fourth most assists (16). Sophomore Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) registered a team high 48 goals, which ranks fourth in the MASCAC.
Senior captain Victoria Paras (Medford, Mass.) served as the Owls primary facilitator as she dished out the third most assists in the conference at 31.
Defensively, the Owls back line, led by sophomore Paige Jelliffe (Monroe, Conn.), allowed the fewest goals against in the MASCAC at 8.29 goals against per game. Another key factor to the Owls defensive was the play of goalkeeping duo Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and Sydney Smith (Dalton, Mass.). Banagan started ten games, recording an 8.74 goals against and a 57.4 save percentage, which is the highest mark in the conference. Smith has compiled a 7.91 goals against (First in the MASCAC) and 48.2 save percentage, while starting in seven games this season.
Bridgewater State (9-8, 4-3 MASCAC) advances into the conference semifinals after defeating fifth seeded Salem State in the first round, 19-6. The Bears used a balanced scoring attack to eliminate the Vikings as six different players recorded two goals.
The Bears are led by Liquori and senior Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.) who have each scored 40 points on the year with identical stat lines (33 goals and seven assists). Senior Jacqueline DeLorey (Westwood, Mass.) leads Bridgewater with 17 helpers.
In net, junior Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) has done the heavy lifting with a 12.35 goals against and 42.4 save percentage in 14 games played.
The winner of this game advances into the MASCAC Championship game which will be held on Saturday. If the Owls win, they will host the winner of #2 Framingham State and #3 Worcester State at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday from Alumni Field. If Bridgewater wins, they will travel to the winner of the opposing semifinal game.