Women’s Lacrosse Downed by Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 29, 2020) – The Western New England University women's lacrosse team fell to Springfield, 12-7, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Golden Bear Stadium.

Top Performers
Junior Taylor Pichel (Hopkinton, Mass.) led the Pride with six goals and one assist. Junior Kate Sarnacki (Granby, Mass.) scored four goals. 

Junior Reilly Miller (Goshen, N.Y.) scored three goals and had one assist for the Golden Bears. Sophomore Samantha Vitka (Stratford, Conn.) scored two goals. 

Game Review
The Golden Bears took an early 2-1 lead from goals from sophomore Liz Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and freshman Ally Hill (Storrs, Conn.). Pichel score twice for the Pride to give them a 3-2 lead. Western New England responded by scoring three straight goals, all from Miller, to take a 5-3 lead.

Sarnacki scored at the very end of the first half and early into the second half to tie the game at 5-5. Vitka scored shortly after to take the lead back. Pichel and sophomore Katie Martel (Hartland, Conn.) scored one minute apart from each other to take a 7-6 lead. Vitka scored her second of the game with 24:57 remaining to tie the game at 7-7. Springfield rattled off five straight goals, including three Pichel, to take the 12-7 win.

Notes
• Junior Kaitlyn Marchant (Londonderry, N.H.) made 19 saves for the Golden Bears.
• Springfield held a 40-20 shooting advantage.

Up Next
Western New England (0-3) hosts Smith on Wednesday afternoon. Springfield (2-1) hosts Amherst on Wednesday evening.