Owls Blast Salem 9-0 For Seventh Consecutive Victory

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Seven different Owls found the back of the net, including five goals from first-year players as Westfield State blew out Salem State 9-0 in a MASCAC contest from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls pick up their seventh consecutive win and improve to 5-0 in the MASCAC and 9-3 overall. The Vikings drop to 3-6 on the season and 2-4 in the conference.

The first three goals scored in the game were from three different first-year players. Lilianna Atkins (Agawam, Mass.) intercepted a pass in the Salem defensive end, firing it towards the net to a charging Caroline Andrade (Watertown, Mass.) who corralled a kick save from Izzy Mosley (Middleborough, Mass.) and scooped a backhander into the net to begin the scoring 3:08 into the game.

Halfway through the first, Jayonna Montigny (Enfield, Conn.) crossed a pass right in front of the net, finding Alyssa Reynolds (Somers, Conn.) on the back post who tipped the ball out of midair into the cage to double the lead. For Reynolds, the goal was the first of her collegiate career.

The Owls extended their lead in the second quarter, with Kacey Curran (Fall River, Mass.) cleaning up a saved shot from Andrade, tucking home Westfield's third marker of the game.

In the second half, Westfield continued to stretch the lead with Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) racking up two goals and two assists. She began the second half with a goal on an assist from Sadie Stauffer (Suffield, Conn.), then assisted on the next two: A tipped shot which was potted by Ashley D'Elia (Watertown, Conn.), then another helper on a pass that got through to Atkins who redirected the pass into the cage.

Murphy had an impressive goal in the fourth quarter, roofing a shot into the top of the net that soared over a leaping Mosley in net.

Westfield was in control throughout the game, outshooting Salem 31-3 while holding the Vikings without a shot in the second half.

Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) made three saves in the first three quarters with Lillian Rowell (Keene, N.H.) seeing time in the fourth quarter. Mosley made 12 saves for Salem.

Westfield State will look to extend their winning streak into a midweek conference game against Fitchburg State on Tuesday at 4:00 P.M. from Fitchburg, Mass.