#4 Fitchburg State Falls Short At #1 Worcester State, 2-1

Top seeded Lancers advance to 2011 MASCAC Championship game

WORCESTER, Mass. (November 3, 2011) – Top-seeded Worcester State University registered a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded Fitchburg State University in semifinal round action of the 2011 MASCAC Women's Soccer Championships this evening.

With the victory, Worcester State advances to the championship game vs. second-seeded Westfield State University. The championship round will be held at Worcester State on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Fitchburg State concludes its 2011 campaign with an overall record of 10-6-2 and a 4-3 mark in the MASCAC.

In an action packed first half, Worcester State quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead using goals from Danielle Clifford (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) and Brianne Beckman (Lakeville, Mass./Apponoquet) in the first 19 minutes of play. Clifford touched first at the 9:37 mark, taking a cross from the left-side and depositing it for her seventh goal of the season, while Beckman cashed in nearly ten minutes later with a loose ball scramble in front of the net.

Fitchburg State cut its deficit in half in the 29th minute of the contest as senior Erica Graves (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) drilled a ball from 25 yards out and posted her third goal of the year. The score remained the same heading into the break with Worcester State holding an 8-6 advantage in shots throughout the period.

In the second half, neither team was able to muster up some offense as Worcester State held on for the 2-1 victory. The Lancers controlled the second half tempo, holding Fitchburg State to zero shots throughout the half, while also posting four targets on net from the result of three corner kicks.

In net, sophomore Jillian Kirouac (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) totaled seven shots in the season finale for the Falcons, while Angiezaka Sychtysz (Warren, Mass./Quabog) recorded three stops in the complete game effort for the Lancers.

For full MASCAC Women's Soccer tournament coverage, please visit www.mascac.com.