Fitchburg State Blanked by Worcester State, 3-0

Linane collects seven saves for Falcons in LEC setback

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Fitchburg State field hockey dropped a tough 3-0 decision to the Lancers of Worcester State in Little East Conference (LEC) action this morning at Coughlin Field in a game with Sterling Cup implications.

In the first half, Worcester State opened the scoring at the 31:11 mark as sophomore forward Michaila Parent found the back of the cage for team-leading 11th goal on the season off an assist from senior Kayla Quinn for the 1-0 advantage going into intermission.

Following the break, Fitchburg State nearly knotted the score in the 48th minute of play when junior forward Casey Noonan fired a shot towards goal that went just wide of the near post to keep the score at 1-0.

The Lancers doubled their lead (2-0) with just over 17 minutes remaining in regulation as freshman forward Olivia Antonelli redirected a shot off the stick of junior midfielder Hayley Sutherland inside the far post for her 11th tally of the year.

Worcester State secured its ninth win on the season at the 66:39 mark when Sutherland converted a penalty stroke, firing a shot into the upper left corner of the cage for her fourth goal of the season, resulting in the 3-0 final.

Throughout the game, Worcester State held a 14-10 margin in shots, while also holding a 14-4 advantage in penalty corners. In goal, sophomore Brittany Linane made seven saves for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while junior Kathryn Salemme stopped five shots for the Lancers in 70 minutes of work.

Fitchburg State (6-4, 4-4 LEC) returns to action on Tuesday as it travels to Western Connecticut State for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Worcester State will host the Rams of Framingham State University on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Follow the Falcons on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!