Lacrosse Claims 2nd Straight MASCAC Title

WESTFIELD, Mass. - Led by junior goalkeeper Maria Woodall (Norfolk, Mass. / King Philip), the tournament MVP, top-seeded Westfield State University captured the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament championship with a 17-10 victory over second-seeded Framingham State on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

The Owls improve to 17-2 on the season, setting a school record for most wins in a season. The visiting Rams end their season with a 16-3 overall record.

The MASCAC Tournament title marks the second-straight title for the Owls who will now advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in program history by receiving the league's automatic bid.

Woodall played the full game in net for the Owls and made 16 saves.

Junior goalkeeper Indigo Fox Tree-McGrath (Bedford, Mass.) took the loss and made an exceptional 19 saves in goal for the Rams.

Sydney Lambert (Hanover, Mass.) led the Owls offensively, with a game-high five goals. Juniors Marissa Nimeskern (Hanover, Mass.) and Elizabeth Navoni (Mansfield, Mass.) each added three goals in addition to junior Alexa Tonelli (Shrewsbury, Mass) who tallied two goals and two assists.

Framingham State's sophomore Nicole Pacheco (Woburn, Mass) led the Rams with a team-high four goals and three assists. Senior Kimberly Foley (Mansfield, Mass.) and freshman Hanna McMahon (Watertown, Mass.) tallied two goals a-piece.

The first half consisted of back and forth action before the Rams grabbed an 8-6 lead at the half that was capped off by a goal from McMahon assisted by Pacheco at 3:17.

The second half began with a goal from Westfield State's Nimeskern just 37 seconds into play, followed by a goal by Framingham State's Pacheco at 27:04 to make it 9-7.

Westfield gained momentum in the second half of play, going on a 6-0 run with three goals from Lambert, two from Nimeskern, and one each from Tonelli, sophomore Hayley Mate' (Melrose, Mass.), and senior Samantha Coyle (Weymouth, Mass.) to lead 13-9 at 18:44.

Framingham State pulled back to within three (13-10) as Pacheco notched her fourth goal of the day on an assist from Gamache with 16:39 left in the second half.

Westfield extended its lead to 14-10 with 9:10 to play, when Lambert notched her fourth of the day after a pass from sophomore Sam Donohoe (Pepperell, Mass. / North Middlesex Regional) to increase their lead by one.

The Owls took control from there, going on a 3-0 run with goals from Lambert, Nimeskern and Tonelli to secure the MASCAC title.

Westfield State owned a 44-28 advantage in shots, while also recording an 18-11 advantage in draw controls. Both teams were tied 28-28 in ground balls.

The Owls will make their second ever NCAA Tournament appearance, in just the 12th season of the women's lacrosse program, which first competed in 2007.

Westfield will await word on the NCAA Tournament pairings which are expected to be announced on Sunday, May 6 at 10:00 on NCAA.com.