Curran, Murphy Score Twice, Owls Trounce Anna Maria 6-0

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Erin Murphy (Auburn, Mass.) and Kacey Curran (Fall River, Mass.) both scored two goals as Westfield State improved to 3-0 in the MASCAC after a 6-0 victory over Anna Maria College on Friday night from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.

The Owls are now 6-3 on the season, winning their fourth straight game. Anna Maria now stands at 1-7 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

After a scoreless first quarter in which the Owls outshot the AMCATS 14-0, Westfield capitalized on a pair of penalty corner attempts in the closing stages of the second quarter.

On the first penalty corner, Eliana Kaplan (North Andover, Mass.) gathered the loose ball right in front of the net, firing a shot towards goal which was saved. The rebound found the stick of Murphy who directed a pass in between the legs of Julianne Stanger (New Braintree, Mass.) to the post where Curran tapped home the opening marker.

With 11 seconds left in the half, Westfield set up another penalty corner. Kaplan inserted the ball to Maddy Barry (Norwood, Mass.) who dished the ball to Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.). Murphy fired a shot on goal which was tipped in on the near post by Kaplan, doubling the Owls lead right before halftime.

The Owls netted two more goals in the third quarter with Jayonna Montigny (Enfield, Conn.) slapping a pass to Curran for her second of the night. Murphy followed with the next two goals, both on assists by Lillianna Atkins (Agawam, Mass.).

Caroline Andrade (Watertown, Mass.) punctuated the scoring with the first goal of her collegiate career, rocketing a shot from the top of the scoring area that deflected off the pad of Stanger and into the back of the cage.

The Owls outshot the AMCATS by a commanding 36-1 mark with Olivia Labrie (Southampton, Mass.) picking up her third win of the season. She made one save, but came at a critical moment with the Owls yet to crack the scoreboard. A sizzling shot from Madison Marie Romano (Lebanon, Maine) threatened to put Anna Maria in front, but a kick save from Labrie kept the game even, giving Westfield time to break through. Stanger made 11 saves for the AMCATS.

Westfield State remains in conference play for their next game as the Owls visit Bridgewater State on Tuesday at 7:00 P.M.