Fitchburg State Edged By Bridgewater State, 7-6

T. Long notches third hat trick of the season for Falcons in MASCAC semifinal round action

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The fourth seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State University dropped a tough 7-6 decision to the top seeded Bears of Bridgewater State University in semifinal round action of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse tournament this evening at Swenson Field.

With the win, Bridgewater State improves to 12-6 overall and will host the winner of the Westfield State/Framingham State game on Saturday at 1 p.n. Fitchburg State concludes its 2017 campaign with an overall record of 11-8.

Fitchburg State opened the contest with a quick 3-1 lead on markers by senior Ali Laferriere, classmate Andrea Comeau and freshman Tracy Long before Bridgewater State took a 5-3 advantage on scored from senior Alex Lynch, newcomer Hayley White and juniors Rebecca McGlone and Melissa Renauld.

The Falcons answered back with roughly eight and half minutes left in the half as T. Long found the back of the net for her second goal of the contest (5-4). T. Long would knot the score for the Green and Gold minutes later, gathering a feed from senior Kayla Panek and burying her 22nd tally on the year to make the score 5-5 going into the break.

Following the intermission, Bridgewater State regained the lead when junior Gabby Reinold and senior Taylor Brown notched goals for the Bears for the 7-5 edge. Fitchburg State cut the deficit to one (7-6) with ten minute left in regulation as Laferriere netted her second tally of the contest off a feed from Panek.

With time winding down, the Falcons gained possession with 42 seconds remaining in the contest but were unable to score the equalizer as Comeau's shot was blocked, resulting in the 7-6 final.

Fitchburg State was led by Long with a game-best three points on three goals, while Laferriere added two points on a pair of scores as well as four draw controls. Junior Carrie Long was also solid for the Green and Gold, finishing with three ground balls, three draw controls and four caused turnovers.

For Bridgewater State, Renauld posted a team-best two points on one goal and one assist to go along with one draw control and two caused turnovers, while McGlone added to the mix, collecting two points on a goal and an assist.

Throughout the contest, Bridgewater State held a slim 18-16 margin in shots, while also holding a 14-12 advantage in groundballs. In net, sophomore Marguerite Belcher turned aside six shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while junior Allie Forman made six saves for the Bears in 60 minutes of work.

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