Western New England Holds Off Castleton for 9-8 Victory

Phillips leads Golden Bears with three second half goals

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 7, 2017) – Junior midfielder Lauren Hurley (St. James, N.Y.) scored the go-ahead goal with 4:01 remaining and junior goalie Shannon McFadden (West Islip, N.Y.) saved a free position shot in the closing seconds as the Western New England University women's lacrosse team earned a 9-8 victory over Castleton University this evening in non-conference action at Golden Bear Stadium.

Top Performers
• Freshman midfielder Lindsey Phillips (East Longmeadow, Mass.) powered the Western New England offense with three goals while also recording three draw controls.
• Freshman midfielder Shannen Barrett (Rensselaer, N.Y.) and junior attack Julia Winer (Longmeadow, Mass.) tallied three points each, while graduate midfielder Emma Norden (Belchertown, Mass.) turned in a strong all around effort with a goal, a game-high nine ground balls, six caused turnovers and two draw controls.

• Senior attack Grace Johnson (South Burlington, Vt.) factored into four of Castleton's eight goals, registering a hat trick and dishing out an assist.
• Senior midfielder Ashley Pelkey (Barre, Vt.) chipped in with a pair of goals, one draw control and one caused turnover.

Game Review
• Junior attack Rachel Canning (Lincoln Park, N.J.) opened the scoring 7:24 into the first half with a free position shot, and Winer doubled Western New England's lead just over two minutes later.
• After junior Hannah Braman (Chelsea, Vt.) got the Spartans on the board at the 19:04 mark, Barrett restored the Golden Bears' two-goal lead just 18 seconds later.
• Norden and Pelkey scored late goals for their respective teams as Western New England took a 4-2 lead into the break.
• The Golden Bears took control of the contest early in the second half, as Phillips netted two goals over the first eight minutes of the frame and Barrett tallied her second of the game at the 20:41 mark, allowing Western New England to open up a 7-2 lead.
• Fueled by three goals from Johnson, Castleton utilized a 5-0 run over the next ten minutes to tie the score at 7-7.
• After Phillips completed her hat trick to put the Golden Bears back in front with 8:26 remaining, Castleton sophomore Megan Wood (Waterford, Vt.) tied the score for the final time with six minutes left in regulation.
• Just under two minutes later, Winer found Hurley for the go-ahead goal, and Western New England held on the rest of the way, with McFadden's late save sealing the contest for the Golden Bears.

Notes
• Western New England outshot Castleton 29-21 and held an 11-8 edge in draw controls.
• McFadden finished with 11 saves.
• Freshman Eileen Ruby (New Fairfield, Conn.) totaled three ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers.

Up Next
Western New England (2-2) heads to Florida with its next two games, as the Golden Bears are set to take on Rowan University and Nazareth College next Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.