Women's Lacrosse Advances to NEWLA Title Game

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State College advanced to the New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) Tournament title game as the Bears downed visiting Worcester State, 23-10, in semifinal round action this afternoon at BSC's Swenson Field.

The top-seeded Bears (13-4) will host second-seeded Castleton State College on Saturday afternoon in the championship game.  Castleton knocked off third-seeded Westfield State, 15-12, in the other semifinal matchup.  Bridgewater is looking to capture the program's second straight tournament title and fourth overall.

After struggling through the first 30 minutes of the games, the Bears absolutely dominated play in the second half.  Bridgewater held a 7-4 lead midway through the opening stanza but watched as the Lancers went on a 4-1 run over the final 13 ½ minutes to cut the deficit to just a goal (8-7) at the intermission.

The second half was all Bridgewater.  Goals by sophomores Jenny Jones (Framingham, MA) and Courtney Lennon (Medfield, MA), and junior Katie DeMaio (Port Jefferson Station, NY) gave BSC some breathing room at 11-7. After senior Michelle Astuccio (Foxboro, MA) scored for Worcester at the 23:29 mark, BSC reeled off ten straight goals and held the Lancers scoreless for over 15 minutes.  Junior Shannon Manning (Framingham, MA) netted three goals during the 10-0 run, while Jones and freshman Jennifer Natale (Hanover, MA) potted two each.

Jones finished with five goals and three assists to go along with three ground balls and six draw controls.  Lennon added three goals three assists and five ground balls, while Manning tallied four goals, an assist, four ground balls and three draw controls.

DeMaio chipped in with four goals and an assist, and Natale came off the bench to notch three goals.  Sophomore Patricia Maloney (Walpole, MA) also filled the score sheet with a goal, an assist, three ground balls and six draw controls.

Manning, Jones and DeMaio each have at least 60 goals and 90 points on the season.  Manning leads the way with 98 points (61 goals, 37 assists).  Last season she set the Bears' single-season scoring record with 105 points.  Jones has 93 points (62 goals, 31 assists) to her credit while DeMaio is not far behind with 90 (66 goals, 24 assists).  DeMaio needs just one goal to tie Jones' single-season goal scoring record of 67 set last season. 

Junior goaltender Meghan Griffin (Billerica, MA) was terrific between the pipes for the Bears as she made 13 saves to record her 12th win of the season. Nine of her 13 saves came in the second half.

Bridgewater outshot the Lancers by a margin of 25-12 in the second half and held a 37-27 shot advantage for the game.  The Bears also had a 19-16 edge in draw controls.

Junior Brittany Jamieson (Foxboro, MA) paced the Lancers (7-6) with two goals and three assists, while Astuccio finished with three goals, five ground balls and four draw controls. Freshman Haley Erickson (Saugus, MA) turned aside 11 shots in goal for Worcester.