Fitchburg State Stuns Westfield State, 1-0
October 1, 2011

Fitchburg State Stuns Westfield State, 1-0

Senior Katie Hayward (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) headed in a corner kick in the 83rd minute to lift Fitchburg State University to a 1-0 victory over Westfield State University in MASCAC action this afternoon.

Box Score

Hayward nets game-winning header in 83rd minute to lift Falcons to top of MASCAC

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 1, 2011) – Senior Katie Hayward (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) headed in a corner kick in the 83rd minute to lift Fitchburg State University to a 1-0 victory over Westfield State University in MASCAC action this afternoon.

With the victory, Fitchburg State, again, extended its winning streak to nine games, holding first place in the MASCAC with an overall record of 9-1 (3-0 MASCAC). Westfield State falls to 8-2-1 on the season and 2-1 in the league.

Freshman Kayla Bridges (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) set up the Falcons game-winner as her corner kick sailed six feet in front of the net and found Hayward who headed in the game-winner past goalie Nicky Stasz. Stasz was attempting to punch the ball out of the box, but Hayward's header found the back of the net for her third goal of the season.

Despite the loss, Westfield State outshot Fitchburg State by a 31-10 margin, but the Owls were unable to put the finishing touches on a number of solid scoring opportunities. Kayley Miller hit the upper right post with 13 minutes remaining and Westfield had another shot attempt drop just over the cross bar, but Falcon goalie, sophomore Jillian Kirouac (Leominster, Mass./Leomisnter) registered 18 saves in the big road victory. 

Fitchburg State (9-1, 3-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Friday as it travels to Mass-Maritime at 6 p.m. Westfield State (8-2-1, 2-1-0 MASCAC) will visit Trinity College on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.