Bridgewater State Doubles Up Fitchburg State, 14-7

Darrigo stops 19 shots; Laferriere nets 134th career goal for Falcons

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University women's lacrosse team dropped a tough 14-7 decision to the Bears of Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Elliot Field.

Fitchburg State was led by sophomore Jaimee Lutz, who posted a team-best three points on three markers as well as five ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers, while junior Kayla Panek and classmate Ali Laferriere combined for four points on four tallies to go along with four ground balls.

With her two goal, Laferriere moved into second place on the all-time career goals scored list with 134 career markers.

For the Bears, junior Melissa Renauld registered a game-best six points on one goal and five helper as well as two ground balls, one draw control and a caused turnover, while senior Lauren Geary added five points on four scores and one assist to go along with ten draw controls and five ground balls.

The Falcons opened the scoring on a marker from Lutz before Bridgewater State knotted score on the ensuing possession on a tally by Geary (1-1). Fitchburg State responded with three consecutive goals with Panek finding the back of the net twice, while Lutz notched second of the contest for the 4-1 advantage.

Bridgewater State battled back, cutting the deficit to just one as junior Alex King and Geary connected on back-to-back markers as the Green and Gold took a 5-4 margin into the break.

Following intermission, the Bears rifled off five straight goals to open the second half of play with senior Marissa Yowell collecting three of the five markers for Bridgewater State, while senior Amanda Liebetruth and King added scores as well for the 9-5 lead.

Fitchburg State answered with a goal from Laferriere with just over 13 minutes remaining (9-6), but the visitor put the game out of reach as Renauld, freshman Elizabeth Ethridge and King notched markers for the Bears, resulting in the 14-7 final.

Throughout the match, Bridgewater State finished with a 35-30 margin in shots, while the Falcons held a narrow 34-30 advantage in ground balls. In net, senior Liz Darrigo turned away 19 shots in the complete game effort for Fitchburg State, while junior Allie Forman was just as impressive for the Bears, collecting 21 saves in 60 minutes of work.

Fitchburg State (5-4, 0-1 MASCAC) returns to action on Wednesday as it travels to UMass Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Bridgewater State (5-2,, 1-0 MASCAC) will visit Plymouth State on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

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