Owls Sink Buccaneers, Claim MASCAC Regular Season Title

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – Westfield State junior Nicole Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.) and sophomore Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) each scored five goals as the Owls secured the outright MASCAC regular season title with a 17-1 victory over Mass. Maritime on Saturday afternoon. The Owls conclude the regular season having won nine straight games, while running the table in conference play with a flawless 7-0 record (12-5 overall).

Mass. Maritime was first to score as leading goal scorer in the conference Alyssa DiScipio (Braintree, Mass.) gave the Buccaneers their lone goal of the game. From that point forward, the Owls were in complete control with Rinkus scoring the next two goals, followed by DeMaio to make it a 3-1 game after one quarter. Westfield fired a total of 18 shots (14 on net) in the period as Maritime goalkeeper Aviva Beringhause (Providence, R.I.) kept the Buccaneers within reach by stopping 11 shots.

In the second quarter, Westfield found the back of the net with consistency beginning with Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.) who scored 1:20 into the quarter. Rinkus deposited her third of the afternoon on a free position shot, followed by a goal from Emma Prattson (Tolland, Conn.) just 27 seconds later to put the Owls up 6-1. DeMaio then netted a pair of goals in a span of 1:24 to push the lead up to seven. Sophomore Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.) added consecutive goals inside the final five minutes of the half, and Rinkus capped off the eight-goal period with her fourth of the game with 2:22 left. The Owls went into halftime with a comfortable 11-1 lead.

Westfield scored three goals in both the third and fourth quarters, while holding Mass. Maritime off the scoreboard for the final 58:10. DeMaio added two goals with Rinkus collecting her fifth of the game in the third. Cara Derby (Dedham, Mass.) rounded up the scoring in the third, with Prattson and Bohenko wrapping up the scoring in the game with goals in the fourth. Bohenko finished the game with a hat-trick.

First-year goalkeeper Sydney Smith (Dalton, Mass.) picked up her seventh win of the season, collecting eight saves on nine shots on net. Beringhause (L, 7-7) was battered with shots throughout the duration of the game, recording 22 saves on 39 shots on net.

Westfield totaled a season high in shots (48) and shots on net (39) with 34 shots attempted in the first half alone. The Owls suffocated Mass. Maritime on the defensive end as well, forcing 33 Buccaneer turnovers and holding them to seven successful clears in 31 attempts.

Westfield State clinched the top seed in the conference in Tuesday night's win over Worcester State and have now claimed sole possession of the MASCAC regular season title with the win over Mass. Maritime. The Owls now enter conference tournament play with eyes on a fifth straight MASCAC Championship and will receive a first-round bye for having the top overall seed in the league. The Owls will play in a MASCAC semifinal game on Thursday at 7:00 P.M. from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. with the opponent still to be determined.