Fitchburg State Edged By Westfield State, 4-3

Richard nets five points for Falcons in LEC setback

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Fitchburg State sophomore forward Molly Richard registered five points on two scores and an assist, but the Falcons rally came up just short as Westfield State held on for a 4-3 victory in Little East Conference (LEC) field hockey action this evening at Elliot Field.

Westfield State raced out to the early lead as junior forward Megan Evans collected a rebounded shot off the stick of sophomore Carly Zona in front of the cage and tucked the ball inside the far post for her third goal on the season just 4:47 into the contest for the 1-0 margin.

The Owls doubled their advantage (2-0) roughly nine minutes later when senior forward Holly Brouillette blasted a shot into the left side of the cage off a feed from classmate Meg Doherty for her team-leading seventh goal on the season.

The visitors upped its lead at the 21:46 mark as senior Jenelle Juskiewicz found the back of the cage for her first tally on the season for the 3-0 lead before the Falcons responded late in the first half when Richard converted a break away attempt in the 29th minute of play, slipping a shot inside the far post for her seventh score on the year as the Owls took a 3-1 lead into the break

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State cut the lead to one (3-2) as junior forward Casey Noonan inserted the ball to Richard at the top of the circle off a penalty corner, who proceeded to fire a shot into the back of cage for her second goal of the game.

Following Brouillette's second tally of the contest (4-2), the Green and Gold answered at the 63:13 mark when senior forward Erin Morrissey redirected a shot off the stick of Richard inside the near post for her third score of the season to make the score 4-3.

That's as close as the Falcons would get however as the Owls defense limited Fitchburg State's chances in the closing minutes, resulting in the 4-3 final. With her two goals, Brouillette moves into third placing on the Owls all-time points list with 101 career points.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State and Westfield State finished with 14 shots a piece, while the Owls held a slim 10-8 margin in penalty corners. In the cage, junior Brittany Linane and sophomore Jordyn Conway combined to stop eight shots for the Falcons, while senior Megan Fountaine made nine saves for Westfield State in the complete game effort.

Fitchburg State (4-2, 2-2 LEC) returns to action on Saturday at it travels to Bridgewater State to take on the Bears at 4 p.m. Westfield State (7-1, 3-1 LEC) will host Keene State on Saturday for a contest starting a 3:30 p.m.

Release Courtesy of Fitchburg State student journalist Kyle Prudhomme

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