WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State's Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.) scored just three minutes into the match, and the Owls made that goal stand up for the next 87 minutes, as the Owls held off Fitchburg State, 1-0 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer championship match at Alumni Field on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Westfield State (15-3-1) secures the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Owls won the league for the ninth time, and will make their ninth appearance in the NCAA's.
Rennich earned tournament MVP honors, tallying her 23rd goal of the season. Westfield used good combination passing as Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass./Douglas) switched fields with a pass to Marissa Jacob (Holden, Mass.) on the left side, and Jacob sent the ball into the middle of the penalty area, where Rennich ran on to it and slotted a shot just inside the right post for the lone score of the match.
Top-seeded Westfield controlled the match territorially for the first 15 minutes of play, and went to the half with the 1-0 lead.
Westfield got several good chances in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as Rennich fired a long shot from the left side which was bobbled by Fitchburg goalkeeper Allison Gough (Wolcott, Conn.), who held on for the save. Jacob got off a good shot on a counter attack, with Gough making a diving save before the ball was cleared by a Fitchburg defender.
Ten minutes into the second half, Westfield's Rennich was pulled down on a feed into the penalty area, but a play-on was called.
Fitchburg ramped up its offensive pressure in the second half. Maddie Hippert (Worcester, Mass.) got off a long shot from the right side that was saved by Owls netminder Lauryn Davis (Templeton, Mass.) with 34 minutes left in the match.
The Falcons got a free kick opportunity 24 minutes to play at the top of the box, with Patricia Pallotta (Sterling, Mass.) firing a shot over the crossbar.
Westfield's best chance of the second half came with 20 minutes left, as Riley Lowe (Andover, Mass.) fired a shot from the left side that came off the crossbar to Kiki McNary (Brattleboro, Vt.), who instantly headed another shot goalward that also rang off the crossbar.
Fitchburg's Regina Pallotta (Sterling, Mass.) toe-poked a shot over the top after Hippert headed a ball through the back line with 13 minutes left in the match, and finally Regina Pallotta had another long shot that was saved by Davis on a free kick with five minutes left.
Davis finished with three saves in goal for the Owls. Despite missing time with injury in the middle of the season she posted her third solo shutout of the year and is 8-0-1 between the pipes this season.
Gough finished with 11 saves for the Falcons. Fitchburg's season comes to an end with a 10-7-3 record overall. The Falcons were seeking a first-ever tournament title in women's soccer.
Rennich's goal was the 50th of her career, leaving her just one shy of the school's career record of 51, set by Sandy Pinto in the late 1990's.
Westfield will learn its opponent and destination in the NCAA tournament tomorrow, on an NCAA.com streaming selection show scheduled to broadcast at 2:00 p.m.