Westfield State Downs Western New England 17-7 in Non-Conference Action

Breen & Ruggiero combine for six of Golden Bears seven goals

WESTFIELD, Mass. (March 7, 2019) – The Westfield State University women's lacrosse team closed out the first half with six unanswered goals on its way to a 17-7 win over Western New England University on Thursday night in non-conference action at Alumni Field.  

Top Performers
Western New England was led by senior Kristen Breen (Ellington, Conn.) and junior Ariella Ruggiero (Valhalla, N.Y.). Breen accounted for four of Western New England's seven goals, while Ruggiero tallied two goals and one assist.

Junior Madison Lemire (Ellington, Conn.) scooped up a game-high five ground balls to go with four draw controls and two caused turnovers.

Westfield State senior midfielder Sydney Lambert (Hanover, Mass.) produced a game-high six points with four goals and two assists while also securing a team-high four draws and collecting three ground balls.

Senior attack Alexa Tonelli (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added three goals and two assists for the Owls.

Game Review
The two teams went back and forth over the first 13 minutes of the contest, with Breen (23:47), Ruggiero (22:42) and freshman Samantha Vitka (Stratford, Conn.) (16:53) all scoring for the Golden Bears early.

Westfield State freshman midfielder Victoria Paras (Medford, Mass.) snapped a 3-3 tie with 15:42 left in the first half, sparking a 6-0 run the rest of the way that gave the Owls a 9-3 advantage at the break.

Breen found the back of the net twice early in the second half (28:31, 23:21) as Western New England cut its deficit to five (10-5), but the Owls responded with seven straight goals to put the contest out of reach.

Notes
• Westfield State outshot Western New England 34-20, but the Golden Bears held a 15-11 advantage in draw controls.
• Western New England went 0-for-5 on free position shots, while the Owls converted on 4-of-7 free position attempts.

Up Next
After playing its first three games of the season on the road, Western New England (0-3) returns home next Wednesday to host Castleton at 4 p.m. Westfield State (2-0) travels down south to Florida for its next three games, beginning with a contest against Skidmore next Monday at 1 p.m.