Kimker leads Golden Bears with game-high six ground balls

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 5, 2017) – The Western New England University women's lacrosse team was unable to overcome a 5-1 halftime deficit as the Golden Bears dropped an 8-4 decision to Westfield State University this afternoon in non-conference action at Golden Bear Stadium.

Top Performers
• Junior Rachel Canning (Lincoln Park, N.J.) accounted for two of Western New England's goals, while classmate Julia Winer (Longmeadow, Mass.) dished out a pair of assists.
• Senior defender Alexa Kimker (Waltham, Mass.) caused a pair of turnovers and recovered a game-high six ground balls.

• Junior midfielder Stephanie Godek (West Springfield, Mass.) led the way for Westfield State, recording two goals, one assist, two ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers.
• Junior Brooke Williams (Wilbraham, Mass.) and sophomore Syd Lambert (Hanover, Mass.) were also key offensive contributors for the Owls with two goals and one assist each.

Game Review
• Freshman Lindsey Phillips (East Longmeadow, Mass.) staked the Golden Bears to a 1-0 lead 3:33 into the first half when she beat Westfield State sophomore goalie Maria Woodall (Norfolk, Mass.) with a free position shot.
• Sophomore Elizabeth Navoni (Mansfield, Mass.) equalized for the visitors at the 20:22 mark, before Lambert gave Westfield State the lead for good just 15 seconds later.
• Williams netted consecutive goals midway through the half, and Godek capped the Owls' 5-0 run with 7:36 remaining as Westfield State opened up a 5-1 advantage.
• Junior midfielder Lauren Hurley (Saint James, N.Y.) got one back for the Golden Bears with 4:20 on the clock, and Western New England trailed by the same margin (5-2) at halftime.
• Winer set Canning up for a goal early in the second half as the hosts pulled back to within two, but Lambert extended the margin back to three (6-3) at the 23:38 mark.
• Canning found the back of the net for the second time on a feed from freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Hutter (Stamford, Conn.) with 17:25 remaining as the Golden Bears again cut their deficit to two. Western New England was unable to complete the comeback, however, as Godek and Navoni tallied late goals to seal the contest in favor of Westfield State.

Notes
• The Owls outshot the Golden Bears 27-20 and held a 7-6 edge in draw controls.  
• Western New England owned a 31-23 advantage in ground balls.
• The Golden Bears were successful on just 10-of-22 clear attempts.

Up Next
Western New England (1-2) will be right back in action on Tuesday afternoon, as the Golden Bears are set to host Castleton University at 4 p.m. Westfield State (1-0) returns home to host Mount Holyoke on Wednesday.