Worcester Polytechnic Institute

WORCESTER -- Lucy Clement (Burlington, MA) scored her first collegiate goal with 7:18 remaining in regulation, but the WPI field hockey team's late rally fell short as Westfield State held on for a 2-1 victory late Saturday afternoon at H.Carr Field.
 
The Engineers, who trailed 2-0 entering the fourth quarter, outshot the Owls, 20-8, and held a 15-3 advantage in penalty corners.
 
Westfield State improves to 4-1 on the season, while the Crimson and Gray slip to 1-3. The Owls entered the contest having won four of their first five games, including victories over Clark, Maine-Farmington and Smith, while their lone setback came in a 4-3 decision at Keene State.
 
The Owls struck twice in the second quarter to take control. Caroline Andrade (Watertown, MA) opened the scoring at 17:13, sending a shot into the bottom left corner following a Westfield State penalty corner. Just 4:10 later, Jocelyn Frein (Huntington, NY) doubled the advantage by converting a rebound off an Andrade shot following another corner.
 
Myles Lakin (Reading, MA) made six saves in the opening half, but the Engineers entered intermission trailing 2-0.
 
The hosts controlled possession and pressure after halftime but could not solve Westfield State goalkeeper Olivia Labrie (Southampton, MA). The Engineers generated six shots and six penalty corners in the third quarter, with Labrie making three saves to preserve the two-goal cushion.
 
WPI continued to apply pressure in the fourth, earning two more corners and putting five shots toward the cage, but still remained scoreless until the final eight minutes.
 
The Engineers finally broke through at 52:42 when Clement finished a rebound off a shot by Ava Cortis (Medway, MA) for the first goal of her collegiate career. The goal energized the Crimson and Gray, who continued to press for the equalizer, but Labrie turned aside two more WPI shots in the closing minutes to preserve the Westfield State victory.
 
Lakin finished with six saves for WPI, while Labrie made 10 stops for the Owls.
 
The Engineers finished with a 20-8 advantage in shots and a 15-3 edge in penalty corners. Chloe Luongo (Amherst, NH) and Madeline Chase (Westford, MA) each recorded three shots, while Sanidi Waduthanthri (Acton, MA) and Cortis each added two shots on the afternoon.
 
WPI returns to action Tuesday evening, hosting Amherst at 7pm at H.Carr Field. It will be the Crimson and Gray's third straight match-up against a fellow 2025 NCAA Tournament participant.  The Owls are back on the field at the same time Tuesday, entertaining Framingham State in its MASCAC opener.