Women’s Lacrosse Downed Late at Springfield

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior midfielder Mykenzie Black (Hopedale, Mass.) recorded three goals and two assists but a late fourth quarter surge from Springfield College resulted in an 18-11 Owls defeat in a non-conference road game on Thursday night.

The Owls were one quarter away from handing the Pride (11-1) just their second loss of the season as Westfield used a strong third quarter to pull ahead entering the final frame.

Mercedes Rozzi (South Burlington, Vt.) scored twice in the third, the first coming on a free position shot with 12:44 remaining in the period to tie the game. The Owls then tallied three of the next four goals with Samantha Dyer (Dover, N.H.) scoring about a minute after Springfield tied the game, then with 5:11 left in the third, Rozzi buried another free position shot to take a 9-8 lead.

1:04 after the Rozzi goal, Black capitalized on a third free position attempt of the period, resulting in a goal to up the Owls lead to two goals. Westfield went a perfect 3-3 on free position shots in the third and finished 5-7 overall.

With a minute remaining in the third, momentum flipped in favor of the Pride as a goal from Lauren Ronai (Orange, Conn.) kickstarted a run of eight unanswered goals from Springfield with the eighth straight marker coming from Claire Ognibene (New Caanan, Conn.) who scored four goals in the final frame alone to put the contest out of reach. Springfield scored half of their goals for the game in the fourth quarter.

Senior Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) eased the Owls into the game by scoring three times in the first quarter with the third score coming in a player down situation. The game entered the second quarter tied at three before Westfield was able to eke out a two-goal advantage after a player up goal from Black with 5:06 remaining in the half.

Springfield closed the second quarter effectively by notching three straight goals entering the break, two of which were converted by Ronai. Lily Johnson's (Oceanside, N.Y.) goal with 1:22 to play in the half put the Pride ahead by one goal heading into halftime.

A tell-tale sign of the advantages between the two sides were held in draws as Westfield built a two-goal lead thanks in part to a 7-0 advantage in draw controls in the third. However, that number sided in favor of the Pride in the fourth quarter as Springfield controlled nine of 11 draws. Springfield held a slight 18-15 edge in draws for the game.

Springfield outshot Westfield 39-24 in the game with Sydney Smith (Dalton, Mass.) making nine saves for the Owls. Katie Laico (East Meadow, N.Y.) secured her 11^th victory in net for the Pride, making six saves.

Westfield State (4-9) will return home for their final home game of the regular season as the Owls will host Salem State in a MASCAC game on Saturday at 4:00 P.M. (note time change) on Senior Night from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.