Fitchburg, MA --- Freshman Jaime Espinola (Greensboro, NC) collected three points on one goal and one assist as WPI downed Fitchburg State, 5-1 in non-conference action at Elliot Field this morning.   The triumph was the first win at WPI for head coach Corey Holton.

WPI raced out to quick lead in the fourth minute of play as sophomore Meghan Hemond (Nashua, NH) headed in a corner kick, clipping the upper right side of the net for the 1-0 advantage. Fitchburg State responded near the end of the half, knotting the score (1-1) with a goal from freshman Rachel Mackewicz (Lebanon, CT). The Falcons capitalized on their own corner attempt with Mackewicz notching her second score of the year. 

The Engineers responded immediately following the Falcons goal as junior Megan Forti (Lynn, MA) found the back of the net nearly 2:30 later. Forti received a through ball from classmate Britney Atwater (Spencer, MA) and rifled a shot into the far post for the 2-1 lead heading into intermission. 

In the second half, WPI notched back-to-back markers over a 1:30 span as freshman Brianna Goncalves (E. Longmeadow, MA) and Espinola collected their first tallies of the season for a 4-1 margin. The Engineers maintained their three goal advantage for much of the period before junior Theresa Renna (Clark, NJ) sealed the victory with a marker off her own rebound later in the frame. 

Throughout the contest, WPI dominated the offensive end, out shooting Fitchburg State 22-4, while limiting the Falcons to just one corner kick. Between the pipes, junior Jillian Kirouac (Leominster, MA) registered six saves in 70 minutes of work for the Falcons, while junior Maddie Willer (Penfield, NY) earned the win for the Engineers in the complete game effort.  

Fitchburg State (1-3) will be back in action on Tuesday as it visits Becker College at 4pm. WPI (1-2) will host Worcester State on Tuesday at 7pm.

Release Courtesy Fitchburg State Information