Western New England Drops Season Opener to Springfield College, 19-3

Ruby, Mazza & Vitka score for Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 23, 2019) – The Western New England University women's lacrosse team fell to crosstown rival Springfield College, 19-3, on Saturday afternoon at Stagg Field in the season opener for both teams.

Top Performers
Western New England's offense featured three different goal scorers in junior Eileen Ruby (New Fairfield, Conn.) and freshmen Liz Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Samantha Vitka (Stratford, Conn.). Vitka also tied for the game-high with seven draw controls.

Springfield was led by sophomore Kate Sarnacki (Granby, Mass.), who produced a game-high eight points with five goals and three assists.

Sophomore Taylor Pichel (Hopkinton, Mass.) was also a key contributor for the Pride with four goals and one assist.

Game Review
After sophomore Hannah Calabrese (Enfield, Conn.) opened the scoring for the home team 1:35 into the contest, Vitka tied it up at the 26:44 mark with her first collegiate goal, which came on a free position attempt.

The Pride regained the lead less than a minute later when Sarnacki scored on a feed from freshman Katie Martel (Hartland, Conn.), sparking a 10-0 run that saw Springfield open up an 11-1 advantage late in the first half.

In the closing seconds of the frame, Mazza notched her first career goal to make it 11-2 in favor of the Pride at the break.

Springfield continued to add to its lead in the second half, as the Pride outscored the Golden Bears 8-1 with Western New England's goal coming courtesy of Ruby.

Notes
• Springfield outshot Western New England 29-16, and the Pride also held a 28-13 advantage in ground balls.
• Western New England sophomore goalie Kaitlyn Marchant (Londonderry, N.H.) and Springfield junior Brenna Keefe (Acton, Mass.) both had seven saves.

Up Next
Western New England (0-1) will be back on the road Thursday at Smith, while Springfield (1-0) travels to Framingham State on Wednesday.