Field Hockey Edged By Owls In Overtime

Yates pots two scores for the Green and Gold

Fitchburg, MA. – The Fitchburg State field hockey team suffered a tough 3-2 setback in overtime to the Owls of Westfield State this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from Elliot Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Westfield State 3

Records: Fitchburg State (7-7. 6-1 MASCAC) | Westfield State (8-7, 5-2 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring at the 12:53 mark of the first quarter as junior Sophia Yates (Woodstock, VT) collected a loose ball and fired a shot into the upper left corner for her team-leading tenth marker of the season for the 1-0 margin.

Westfield State knotted the score with four minutes remaining in the half as junior Erin Murphy (Auburn, MA) received a feed from freshman Annalise Lopes (Plymouth, MA) and deposited a shot inside the near post for her third tally of the 2024 campaign to make the score 1-1 going into the break.

Following the intermission, the Owls grabbed the lead in the 49th minute of action when sophomore Meredith Higgins (Enfield, CT) settled a feed from senior Leah Pierce (Auburn, MA) and found the back of the cage for her fifth tally on the year for the 2-1 edge.

The Falcons retied the contest at 2-2 one minute later as Yates blasted a shot inside the far post for her second score of the contest off an assist from junior Olivia Narkevicius (Phillipston, MA) to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Westfield State secured the victory in the 64th minute of action as senior Abby Clark (Uxbridge, MA) collected a rebound and put a shot into the back of the cage for her second marker on the season, resulting in the 3-2 final.

 Inside the Numbers

• This evening's contest marked the 47th meeting between Fitchburg State and Westfield State in the sport of field hockey with the Falcons 17-29 when taking on the Owls
• Fitchburg State held a 23-15 advantage in shots
• The Falcons finished with an 11-5 edge in penalty corners
• Senior Jenna Morse (Leominster, MA) stopped ten shots for the Falcons
• Junior Emma Gniadek (Worcester, MA) made 12 saves for the Owls

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Tuesday as they travel to Gordon College to take on the Fighting Scot in non-conference action, starting at 7:00PM.

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