Owls Clinch Top Seed in MASCAC Tournament with Win Over Worcester

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior Emma Cretella (Cheshire, Conn.) tallied four goals and four assists as the Owls clinched the number one overall seed in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament with an 18-8 victory over Worcester State on Tuesday night from Alumni Field. The Owls, who won their eighth straight game, have secured at least a share of the conference regular season title and can earn the outright title with a win over Mass. Maritime on Saturday.

Westfield State improves to 11-5 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the MASCAC. Worcester State dips to 9-7 on the season and 4-2 in conference play.

Sophomore Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) got the Owls on the board twenty seconds into the game, scoring the first of her game-high six goals on the night on a feed from Cretella to put Westfield up 1-0. Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.) was next to score on a dish by Cassidy Connolly (Woburn, Mass.) to give the Owls a quick 2-0 lead with 11:41 left in the first quarter.

The Lancers cut the deficit in half thirty seconds later as Julia Ravenelle (Barrington, N.H.) put Worcester on the scoreboard on a feed from Abby Lauzon (Lakeville, Mass.).

Westfield responded with four unanswered goals as DeMaio and Connolly deposited a pair of goals each to extend the Owls lead to 6-1. Lancers' leading goal-scorer Clare Conway (Billerica, Mass.) tallied her first goal of the night with eight seconds left in the quarter to make it 6-2 after one period.

Lily Gendron (Lakeville, Mass.) opened the scoring in the second period on a pass from Ashley Hurley (Norton, Mass.) to trim the Owls lead to three goals, 6-3. After the Lancers third goal, Cretella took the game over, scoring the next three goals in a span of two minutes and 54 seconds to the Owls up 9-3. Harvey added a man-up goal with 1:47 remaining in the half to give Westfield a seven-goal lead heading into the break.

In the second half, the Owls pushed the lead to nine goals with DeMaio and Kiely Hafensteiner (Niskayuna, N.Y.) scoring the first two goals. From that point forward, Worcester State would get no closer than seven goals as the Owls cruised to the final buzzer.

Cretella led all players with eight points, while DeMaio increased her season goal total to a team-high 43 goals. Connolly, Harvey, and Kelly Gearin (Lunenburg, Mass.) each recorded four points with Connolly tallying three goals and an assist while Harvey had two goals and two assists. Gearin registered three helpers and a goal. Hafensteiner and Nicole Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.) rounded up the scoring with a goal apiece.

Gendron led the Lancers with three goals while Ravenelle and Conway recorded two goals each. Hannah Erickson finished off the scoring with a goal.

Owls' goalkeeper Sydney Smith (Dalton, Mass.) picked up her sixth win of the season, stopping five shots on net. Worcester keeper Savanna Rosado (Milford, Mass.) took the loss, recording five saves.

Westfield State aims to lock up the outright regular season title on Saturday as the Owls travel to Mass. Maritime for a noon start from Buzzards Bay, Mass. for their final regular season game. Worcester State concludes the regular season on the road against Bridgewater State on Saturday at 7:00 P.M.