WORCESTER—The Worcester State University women’s lacrosse team has made history, capturing its first MASCAC tournament title and earning the program’s inaugural trip to this weekend’s NCAA championships.
“I don’t know if I can even put it into words,” said head coach Kelly Downs, describing the Lancers’ 13-11 championship win over Framingham State on May 3. “I looked at the clock, it said 13.6 seconds, and we had the ball. I knew we were going to win the game. Obviously, we were all crying, but they were really happy tears. It was just a great feeling.”
Worcester State opens the NCAA tourney against Babson at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
The Lancers came into the MASCAC final as the No. 1 seed, facing third-seeded Framingham State. Worcester State senior co-captain Hannah Erickson opened the scoring. Within five minutes, though, the Rams had scored two goals to take the lead.
Worcester State junior Mckayla Fisher evened things up with a free-position goal, but the game stayed tight, with new points on each side, until junior Abigail Vincent put the Lancers ahead, followed quickly by a goal from sophomore Madigan Kelley to extend the lead. The first quarter ended with Worcester State up, 5-4.
The teams traded goals throughout the second quarter, with the Lancers maintaining an 8-7 lead at halftime. Early in the third quarter, junior Molly Witkowski scored twice to push the lead to 10-7. The Rams fought back, and by the end of the third quarter the Lancers held an 11-10 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, the Lancers dug in. With five minutes remaining, senior Abbie Wing scored her first goal of the game, giving the Lancers a three-point cushion. While Framingham State narrowed the gap to two points with two minutes to go, the Lancers held possession as the clock wound down.
“We were like, oh my goodness, we’re about to do it,” recalled Erickson.
But with 20 seconds left, the Rams got the ball again. Erickson started sprinting across the field, but there was nothing to worry about, because co-captain senior Ava Gesner took care of it.
“I ended up intercepting the ball when they tried to go down and score,” Gesner said. “And I have never been so excited.”
For her teammates, that was when it became real. “That moment when Ava intercepted the ball, I knew we were about to win the MASCAC championship,” Erickson said.
For Downs, the most satisfying part was that it was a true team effort. “Our defense was awesome. We had great caused turnovers. Midfield worked really hard with draw control. I’ll give kudos to Framingham’s goalie—she was really good, so our offense and attackers had to work hard. We didn’t rely on one person to make one singular play. It was a great team win.”
Led by co-captains Gesner, Erickson, senior Emma Grande and senior Ashley Hurley, the Lancers began the preseason aiming for the MASCAC championship. Even after early losses, the women never lost sight of that dream.
“We all showed up every single day for each other, on and off the field,” said Erickson. “We put our all into it. It was really blood, sweat, and tears going into this championship.”
Now, the Lancers head to Wesleyan University for the NCAA tournament, where they’ll face Babson University on Saturday.
The Lancers will travel to Wesleyan on Friday morning. They’ll hold a practice, check into their hotel, enjoy a team dinner, and cap off the day with bonding activities.
“We are a very tight-knit team,” Gesner said. “I think our team chemistry and our bond—we always genuinely want to be with each other—reflect on the field in how we play. We’re a very selfless team, and that’s truly reflected in our game.”
This article was submitted by Emily Gold Boutilier, Worcester State University news editor
