Owls Blast Blazers, 10-1; Ditmar Coaches 500th Collegiate Match

WESTFIELD, Mass. –   Westfield State first-year forward Delaney Parker (Orange/Mahar HS) added to her nation-leading goal total as she tallied a pair of goals to lead Westfield to a 10-1 win over MCLA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer match at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.

Westfield improves to 5-3-1 and 2-0 in the MASCAC, while MCLA is now 0-6 and 0-2 in the MASCAC.

The game was the 500^th career coaching game for Westfield State head coach Todd Ditmar.

Parker had a hand in the first three goals for Westfield.  She picked up an assist on the first goal. When Parker's shot hit the far post and Kylee Murphy (Havehill) ran on to the rebound and found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. 

Parker added the second goal when goalkeeper Lauryn Davis' (Templeton, Mass./Quabbin Reg.) long punt from the penalty area took a big bounce just beyond midfield, and Parker ran on to the ball for a breakway, beating MCLA goalkepper Jillan Currier (Troy, NY/Lansingburg)  for the goal.  Parker now has 15 goals on the season.  She entered the weekend tied for the most in the nation in Division III.

Parker added her second of the game off a good move at the top of the penalty area to beat a pair of defenders to give the Owls a 3-0 lead 28 minutes into the match.

From there, the rout was on, Amanda Johnson (Wareham, Mass.) and Kayla Demers (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's ) netted their first career goals for the Owls to make it 5-0 at the half.

Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.), Demers, and Riley Lowe (Andover, Mass.) added goals, and Kaitlin Wernik netted a pair of late markers, the first two of her collegiate career as well.

Parker finished with two goals and two assists, Lowe finished with a goal and three assists.

Jenna Hurlburt (Kingston, Mass.) added a pair of assists for Westfield while anchoring the Owls' defense.

MCLA's lone goal came in the 71^st minute, as Sophie Elser (Pittsfield, Mass.) fed a pass to Alyssa Porter (Boylston, Mass./Tahanto) on the right side, with Porter beating the Owls' Sarah Fuller (Weymouth, Mass.) for the goal to trim the lead to 7-1.

Westfield dominated in every category, firing 56 shots to the Blazers' seven, and generating nine corner kicks to none for MCLA.

The Blazers got a combined 22 saves from their goalkeepers, as Currier and Mady Bressee (Bennington, Vt./Mount Anthony) split the game, with each making 11 saves.

For Westfield, Davis had three saves before giving way to Fuller and later Michaella Moncecchi (Windsor, Conn/Waconah Reg.).  The Owls used 25 players in the win, substituting liberally in the second half.

Ditmar, a Pittsfield, Mass. native who now resides in Longmeadow, is in his 17^th season at Westfield State, having posted a 164-102-27 record while leading the Owls to seven NCAA tournament appearances.

A 1989 graduate of UMass, Ditmar has a 29-year collegiate coaching career, spending 12 seasons at Bay Path University where his teams won three league titles and made one NCAA Tourney appearance before coming to Westfield.

Ditmar ranks 29^th among active Division III women's soccer coaches in career wins with a 278-188-34 record in his career

The Owls will next play on Wednesday, September 29, hosting Smith College in a non-conference game.  MCLA will host Nichols on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

Westfield State women's soccer coach Todd Ditmar is presented with a ceremonial game ball from his 500th career game, by Owls associate athletic director Nancy Bals, on September 25, 2021. Ditmar's Owls won the match, 10-1 over MCLA.