BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Third-seeded Bridgewater State University advanced to the semifinal round of the 2026 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament with a 12-9 quarterfinal round victory over #3 seed Salem State University on Tuesday evening at Mazzaferro Field.

The Bears (8-10) will travel to Westfield State University to take on the second-seeded Owls in semifinal round action on Thursday night at seven o'clock.

Bridgewater is now 17-0 all-time against Salem. The two teams have meet five times in the MASCAC Tournament (2015, 2018, 2022, 2025, 2026) with all five matchups coming in the quarterfinal round at Mazzaferro/Swenson Field.

The Vikings end the season with an overall record of 8-7.

The Bears got off to a bit of slow start as they trailed 2-1 with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Senior Aislinn Bennett (Milford, Mass.) and junior Kaylee Rich (Danvers, Mass.) scored for the Vikings while senior Ashley Silva (Rowley, Mass.) found the back of the net for the hosts.

Bridgewater then reeled off four consecutive goals over the final 150 seconds of the opening period to take the 5-2 lead. Senior Meredith Sylvia (South Dartmouth, Mass.) scored three times during the stretch while sophomore Sophia Fleurent (Fairhaven, Mass.) also scored.

Senior Katie Lamothe (Dartmouth, Mass.) converted off an assist from Fleurent 1:47 into the second period to cap off the 5-0 BSU run and extend the lead to 6-2. The teams exchanged two goals apiece over the final nine minutes of the second quarter with Bennett and Rich finding the back of the net for the Vikings, and sophomore Lizzy Deacon (Amesbury, Mass.) and Sylvia scoring for the Bears.

Bridgewater would take an 8-4 lead into the break. The Bears outshot the Vikings, 17-12, over the first 30 minutes. BSU sophomore goalkeeper Sara Skaff (Lowell, Mass.) made eight saves in the first half while SSU junior netminder Nora Bradley (Haddon Township, N.J.) stopped six shots.

The third quarter belonged to Salem State as the Vikings scored four of the five goals in the session, including each of the last four, to make it a one-goal game (9-8) heading into the final period.

After Fleurent gave the Bears a 9-4 lead with 9:32 remaining in the quarter, the Vikings received goals from junior Olivia Tednes (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), senior Laura Young (Leominster, Mass.), Rich and sophomore Jordan Turcotte (Danvers, Mass.).

The Vikings turned the ball over on the opening possession of the fourth quarter and Sylvia converted at the other end of the field off an assist from Carter to make it a two-goal cushion, 10-8.

Salem answered with a player-advantage goal from Turcotte with Rich collecting the assist to, once again, cut the deficit to one, 10-9, with 10:20 left to play.

The Vikings had a glorious chance to tie the game with 3:43 left to play, but Skaff made a key save on a free position shot by Turcotte.

Bridgewater then capitalized on the player-advantage with senior Erin Henn (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) finding the back of the net off a beautiful feed from Sylvia to give the Bears an 11-9 lead with 2:08 showing on the scoreboard.

Fitpatrick capped off the scoring, also on the player-advantage, off an assist from Fleurent with just seven seconds left to play.

Sylvia finished with game highs of five goals and two assists for seven points. She added two ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers.

The Bears also received two goals and a pair of helpers from Fleurent who also corralled a game-best seven draw controls and forced three turnovers.

Turcotte paced Salem State with two goals and two assists as well as two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Rich finished with three goals and an assist while Bennett notched a pair of goals.

Bridgewater finished with a 29-22 shot advantage as well as a 15-8 edge in draw controls. The Bears were successful on 12 of 18 clear attempts while the Vikings went 14-for-20 on the clear.

Skaff turned aside 11 shots to record her eighth win of the season and 21st of her career. She tied Lauren Mazzola (2003-05) for sixth place on the Bears' all-time wins list.

Bradley made 14 saves in the setback for the Vikings.

Notes: Fleurent now has 90 draw controls on the year which marks the seventh highest single-season total in program history...Sylvia now has 165 draw controls in her career as she surpassed Patricia Maloney (2008-11) for seventh place on the Bears' all-time list.