Fitchburg State and Westfield State Advance to Women's Lacrosse Semifinals

Third-seeded Westfield State and fourth-seeded Fitchburg State have advanced to the semifinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Tournament after winning their respective quarterfinal match-ups Tuesday night.

April 29, 2014

Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information

Westfield State 13, Framingham State 1

Third-seeded Westfield State and fourth-seeded Fitchburg State have advanced to the semifinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament after winning their respective quarterfinal match-ups Tuesday night.

Stephanie Lenhardt tallied a game-high six points on three goals and three assists to lead Westfield State to a 12-3 victory over Framingham State in the quarterfinals Tuesday evening.

No. 3 seed Westfield State (9-8) advances to the MASCAC Tournament semifinals and plays at No. 2 seed Worcester State on Thursday, May 1, at 7:00 p.m. Worcester State edged Westfield State, 10-7, during the regular season.

Westfield, which had defeated No. 6 seed Framingham (2-14) by a 13-1 score last Wednesday, jumped out to a 6-0 lead halfway through the first period and led 9-0 at halftime.

Lenhardt scored five of her points (3 goals, 2 assists) in the first half. The 5-11 junior from Duxbury, Mass., currently ranks 11th nationally with a single-season school record 49 assists.

Sophomore Roni Orcutt (Granville, MA/Westfield HS) also scored three goals. Scoring two goals for the Owls were sophomore Blair Smith (Milford, MA) and freshman Caroline Smart (Weymouth, MA). Senior Jen Carew (Billerica, MA) had game highs of six draw controls and four ground balls.

Courtesy of Fitchburg State Sports Information

Fitchburg State 11, Salem State 9

In the other quarterfinal game Tuesday night, fourth-seeded Fitchburg State used nine first half goals as it defeated fifth-seeded Salem State, 11-9 in quarterfinal action of the MASCAC Women's Lacrosse tournament.

With the victory, Fitchburg State (9-8) advances to the semifinal round against top-seeded Bridgewater State on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Salem State concludes its season with an overall record of 4-11.

Freshman Ali Laferriere (Tyngsboro, Mass.) led the way for Fitchburg State, notching a game-best five goals, while classmate Andrea Comeau (Watertown, Mass.) added a pair of markers.

In net, Elizabeth Darrigo (Billerica, Mass.) made her mark in the Fitchburg State record books, breaking the all-time career saves mark with 343 career stops. With 19 saves in the contest, Darrigo passed the previous mark of 330 set by Dylana Drolette.

For the Vikings, Erin Riley paved the way, totaling a team-high three scores on the night. Kristina Conlon was also strong with three points, posting two scores and one helper, while Kelsey Russell finished with two goals for Salem State.

For the contest, Fitchburg State held a slim margin in shots (37-33), while Salem State took an advantage in groundballs (28-25). The Falcons did control the draw (14-8) as Laferriere pulled in seven draw controls, but Salem State caused 21 Falcon turnovers to even the time of possession.