Fitchburg State Flies Past Becker, 19-5

Swan post game-best seven points in Falcons final regular season contest

FITCHBURG, Mass. (May 1, 2010) – The Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team closed out the 2010 regular season this afternoon, defeating Becker College, 19-5 in New England Women’s Lacrosse Alliance action at Elliot Field.

Fitchburg State awaits its pairing for the 2010 NEWLA playoffs, concluding its season with an overall record of 10-6 and a 4-3 mark in the conference. Becker ends its 2010 campaign with a 5-10 record overall and a 1-6 clip in the NEWLA.

The Falcons raced out a commanding 15-1, first half lead, using a balanced attack to score the game’s first 14 goals. Senior Emily Swan (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) opened the Fitchburg State scoring just six second into the contest, netting back-to-back markers for an early 2-0 lead, while sophomores Kelly Finamore (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) and Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) followed suit with one marker each by the 24:16 mark.

Fitchburg State controlled the first half tempo, totaling 24-4 advantage in shots and 24-7 advantage in groundballs. Eight different Falcons registered first half scores with Finamore and Burns leading the way with three scores apiece. Swan, freshman Jamie Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) and junior Kaitlyn Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) also added a pair of makers, while sophomore Gianna Gitto (Leominster, Mass./Saint Bernards) and freshman Cassandra Benoit (N. Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) wrapped up the scoring with one tally apiece.

In the second half, Fitchburg State slowed down its guns, playing possession style offense to secure its tenth victory of the season. Becker battled the Falcons 4-4 in the half as sophomore Morgan Hazen (Woodstock, Vt./Woodstock) collected her 100th career goal late in the period. The second year attacker posted her second goal of the contest with 57 second remaining to eclipse the 100 goal plateau. Classmate Nicole Lijana (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) was also strong ,adding to the Becker offense with one score in the half, while freshman Vanessa Laureano (Dracut, Mass./Dracut) chipped in with a marker.

Fitchburg State dominated the offense portion of the contest, totaling a 33-17 advantage in shots and 34-21 margin in groundballs. J. Kelley and Burns led the Falcons with four groundballs apiece, while Laureano tallied four pickups for the Hawks. In net, freshman Abbie Brown (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) earned the victory with seven saves in the contest, while sophomore Lindsey Peluso (Dudley, Mass./Dudley) stopped ten shots for Becker.

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Fitchburg State 19, Becker 5