Owls Extend Winning Streak with Shutout Victory at Fitchburg, 4-0

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Four different Owls found the back of the net and goalies' Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) and Olivia Labrie (Southampton, Mass.) combined for a nine-save shutout as Westfield State secured another conference road win against a highly ranked MASCAC foe, defeating Fitchburg State 4-0 on Tuesday evening from Fitchburg, Mass.

Both teams carried sizeable winning streaks into the contest with the Owls earning their eighth consecutive win, snapping the Falcons four-game hot streak as a result. Westfield is now 6-0 in the MASCAC and 10-3 overall with Fitchburg dropping to 4-2 in the conference and 7-4 on the season.

The Owls scored a goal in each of the four quarters. In the opening stanza, Sadie Stauffer (Suffield, Conn.) struck the ball from about 20 yards out, deflecting off a Falcons player before finding the stick of Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) who flicked a shot over the sliding Isabella Corcoran (Braintree, Mass.) and into the cage for a 1-0 lead with 4:46 left in the first quarter. 

The Owls doubled their lead early in the second quarter but did so thanks in part to two saves from Gniadek off consecutive penalty corner attempts from the Falcons: The first a kick save followed up by a blocker stop on an elevated shot.

About a minute later, the Owls possessed the ball into the Falcons zone with Caroline Andrade (Watertown, Mass.) stickhandling through Fitchburg defenders before letting a shot go from just inside the shooting area. The ball kicked to Kacey Curran (Fall River, Mass.) in a swarm of bodies right in front of the net where she directed a shot in between the legs of Corcoran towards the goal line which was stopped by a Fitchburg defender, resulting in a penalty stroke for Westfield.

Senior Maddy Barry (Norwood, Mass.) stepped in to take the stroke, lifting a shot towards the left post which rattled between Corcoran's pad and the pipe, sneaking in for a 2-0 Owls advantage with 11:35 to go in the half.

Westfield found a third goal in the closing minutes of the third after Kaleigh Murphy intercepted a pass inside the shooting space, centering a pass to Erin Murphy (Auburn, Mass.) who grounded a shot past Corcoran into the low righthand corner with 1:24 remaining.

The Owls continued to build the lead early in the fourth quarter after a shot from Andrade was partially stopped with the ball trickling towards the goal mouth where Ashley D'Elia (Watertown, Conn.) knocked home the loose ball before Kendall O'Brien (Townsend, Mass.) could sweep it out of danger.

Westfield consistently battered Fitchburg with shots throughout the game, finishing with a 23-14 shots advantage. The Owls increased their shot volume as the game progressed, including seven shots on goal in the final frame, six of which were stopped by Corcoran.

Gniadek (W, 6-3) made six saves for the Owls, then Labrie entered in the third period to make three saves. Corcoran made 14 stops for the Falcons.

Westfield State's remaining six games are all against conference opponents, continuing on Saturday as the Owls host Framingham State at 2:00 P.M. from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.