Women's Lacrosse Captures MASCAC Title !

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Led by tournament MVP, sophomore goaltender Maria Woodall (Norfolk, Mass.), second-seeded Westfield State University captured the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament championship with a decisive 15-5 victory over number one seed and four-time reigning champion Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The MASCAC Tournament title marks the first for the Owls (13-5) who will now advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history.

Woodall finished with nine saves on the afternoon. She posted a 4.00 goals against average and a .750 save percentage in two games during the tournament.

Westfield had split time in goal between Woodall and senior captain Alanah Melanson all season long, changing goalies at half time. Not today.

"About two minutes before the half, I got a tap on the shoulder and it was Lane [Melanson]. "She told me that Maria's on fire, that she should stay in," said Owls head coach Jeff Pechulis. "I said 'are you sure' and Lane said 'Maria deserves it' … Now THAT's a captain," said Pechulis. "I'm so happy for Maria. That she was named the MVP of the tournament just clinched it."

The Owls scored the first seven goals of the contest and held an 8-1 lead at the break. Sophomore midfielder Sydney Lambert (Hanover, Mass.) and sophomore attack Elizabeth Navoni (Mansfield, Mass.) notched two goals apiece to lead the way for Westfield in the opening stanza.

The Owls were never seriously threatened the rest of the way as they maintained at least a seven-goal lead in the second half. Back-to-back player-advantage goals by junior attack Samantha Coyle (Weymouth, Mass.) capped off the scoring and gave Westfield the ten-goal cushion with 5 ½ minutes left to play in the final stanza.

Coyle finished with a game-high four goals and an assist for five points, while Lambert checked in with three goals and a helper. Navoni, sophomore attack Marissa Nimeskern (Hanover, Mass.) and junior midfielder Stephanie Godek (West Springfield, Mass.) added two goals apiece for the visitors.

Bridgewater wraps up the 2017 season with an overall record of 12-7. The Bears streak of nine straight conference titles (five NEWLA, four MASCAC) also came to an end.

Senior midfielder Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) and sophomore attack Elizabeth Ettridge (Marshfield, Mass.) paced the host Bears with two goals each, while freshman attack Hayley White (Dracut, Mass.) contributed a goal and an assist. BSU senior goaltender Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) turned aside eight shots in the setback.

The Owls outshot the Bears by a decided margin of 31-18. Westfield also finished with a slight edge in both ground balls (11-9) and draw controls (11-10).

"We changed a few things from last week on offense, defense, transition, but nothing dramatic. At this point of the season it's just details," said Pechulis. "This team is so smart, they pick up those details and apply them right away."

Westfield State won its first MASCAC title in four attempts. The Owls had advanced to the league championship game for the fourth time in the last five years, losing to nemesis Bridgewater State the previous three time, including 1-goal losses in overtime in each of the last two title tilts, and had fallen to Bridgewater by a 5-4 score just a week ago in their final regular-season game of 2017.

"The biggest difference is the fact that we believed in ourselves," said Pechulis. "Last week there were a lot of nerves, and I don't think we were sure we could win. But last week made us realize that we could."

The Owls will make their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, in just the 11^th season of the women's lacrosse program, which first competed in 2007.

"We've worked hard for it. I've already got a lot of text messages from our former players, players who helped build the program, helped us to recruit and bring in better and better players," said Pechuilis. "It' been a long time coming, and I have to give credit to [former head coach] Greg Styles, who brought me in to the program as an assistant."

Westfield will await word on the NCAA Tournament pairings which are expected to be announced on Sunday night at 9:30 on NCAA.com.

"I think we are going to go into the tournament with a lot of intensity," said Pechulis. "I wouldn't want to play us right now. You never know what can happen."