Westfield State Outlasts Women's Soccer

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's soccer squad suffered a 2-1 setback to visiting Westfield State University in a non-conference match at Leary Field Wednesday night. The Blazers move to 9-2-1 on the season, while the Owls improve to 5-5 overall.

After more than thirty minutes of back-and-forth play, the Owls broke the scoreless tie in the 33^rd minute as senior Kate Matroni (Hampden, Mass.) fired a shot that was denied by Elms freshman keeper Rebecca Molin (West Hartford, Conn.), but Westfield junior Michaela St. Cyr (Saugus, Mass.) tucked the loose ball past the diving reach of Molin to stake the Owls to a 1-0 lead.

The Blazers found their equalizer with 6:55 remaining in the first half as Elms drew a free kick inside Owls territory. On the ensuing kick, Elms junior Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) launched a shot from 35 yards out over the reach of Owls sophomore goalie Natalia Falcone (Sutton, Mass.) and into the back corner of the net, evening the score at 1-1. The sides remained tied heading into halftime.

In the 53^rd minute of play, the Owls netted the game-winner as senior Taylor Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) gathered a loose ball and slid a shot under the hands of Molin, to give the Owls the 2-1 edge. The Blazers had an opportunity to tie up the match in the 79^th minute on another free kick opportunity, but the attempt from LaRochelle rang off the crossbar and Elms was unable to put away the loose ball as Westfield State collected the 2-1 win.

The Owls outshot the Blazers, 14-8, during the contest. Molin made a match-high five saves for Elms, while Falcone made one stop for Westfield State.

The Blazers will look to move back into the win column with a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) road trip to Mitchell College Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. Westfield State travels to Framingham State for a MASCAC tilt Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

ELMS SOCCER