WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State graduate student Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.) tallied the game-winning goal via penalty kick in the first half as the Owls defeated Bridgewater State 2-0 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game on a Saturday afternoon from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.
The victory moves the Owls to 5-0 inside the conference and 9-3-1 overall. Westfield has also won five of their last six games. Bridgewater suffers their first loss inside MASCAC action, slipping to 3-1-1 and 8-4-2 on the season.
With the score knotted at zero, first-year Kiki McNary (Brattleboro, Vt.) got fouled in the box after a hard net drive, setting up Rennich for her conference-leading 14th goal of the season on a penalty kick with 1:17 remaining in the half to give the Owls a 1-0 advantage heading into the break.
Midway through the second half, the Owls threatened to double the lead with McNary sending a through ball to Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass.) who got in behind the defense, then fired a shot towards the upper left corner of the net where Bears goalkeeper Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.) came up with a crucial diving save to preserve the 1-0 deficit.
The Owls continued to amount scoring chances with Parker capitalizing at the 82nd minute, settling a ball at the top of the box, then with a quick touch to her left, delivered a strike past the outstretched arms of Levesque to double the Owls lead.
Westfield controlled the flow of the game in the first half, holding Bridgewater without a shot compared to 13 registered by the Owls. However, the play evened out in the second half, with Westfield holding a slim 9-8 shot margin. On the game, the Owls totaled 22 shots to the Bears eight.
Levesque kept the Bears within striking distance throughout the contest, compiling 11 saves. Owls goalkeeper Julia Robak (Chicopee, Mass.) recorded three second-half saves, while also punching out a corner from Michelle Belcher (Norton, Mass.) late in the second half that was placed directly into the center of the box to secure the shutout.
Westfield State will travel to UMass Dartmouth for a non-conference game on Tuesday at 7:00 P.M. before returning home to face conference opponent Fitchburg State on Homecoming Weekend at 11:00 A.M. Saturday.