Field Hockey Faces Fitchburg in Senior Day Finale

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State University field hockey will close the regular season with a MASCAC contest against Fitchburg State on Saturday at 4:30 P.M. as part of senior day from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.

The Owls will recognize their nine seniors for their commitment and dedication to the program: Maddy Barry, Morgan Beirne, Emma Gniadek, Shannon Gover, Erin Lane, Jayonna Montigny, Erin Murphy, Kaleigh Murphy, and Sadie Stauffer.

A record-setting regular season leaves the Owls with one last game before the playoffs where the Owls have already secured the MASCAC regular season title and the number one seed in the conference tournament, entering Saturday on a 13-game winning streak with an 11-0 MASCAC mark and 15-3 overall record. The Falcons are currently tied for third spot in the league standings, owning a 7-4 conference record and an 11-6 season record.

In the first meeting between the two sides at Fitchburg, the Owls rolled to a 4-0 victory with four different goal scorers and a combined nine-save shutout from Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) and Olivia Labrie (Southampton, Mass.).

Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) is the Owls leading scorer, tallying 17 goals and six assists for a total of 40 points. Murphy has 99 career points across her four seasons as only three players in program history have reached the 100-point mark.

Behind Murphy's scoring is an impressive rookie class with Caroline Andrade (Watertown, Mass.) scoring 11 goals while adding seven assists. Third on the team in goals scored is Kacey Curran (Fall River, Mass.) who's notched ten goals and eight assists in her first season as an Owl.

Gniadek has been sound in net all season for the Owls, earning a 9-3 record with a 1.85 goals against and an .809 save percentage. Labrie has formed a lethal tandem between the pipes, posting a 6-0 record with a 1.25 goals against and a .795 save percentage.

For the Falcons, Sophia Yates and Olivia Narkevicius pace the team with seven goals apiece while Yates is also the team's assist leader with eight for a team-high 22 points. Six Fitchburg players have scored five or more goals. Isabella Corcoran has started all 17 games in goal for the Falcons, posting a MASCAC-best 1.17 goals against and .853 save percentage.

Westfield State, which set the single-season program win record, received a first-round bye in the MASCAC Tournament which starts next week. The Owls will host a conference semifinal game on Thursday at 7:00 P.M. with the opponent to be determined based on first round games to be played on Tuesday.