Women's Lacrosse Qualifies For MASCAC Championships In Second Varsity Season, Travels To Worcester State For Quarterfinal Round Clash Tuesday
Buzzards Bay, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Maritime women’s lacrosse team has earned the program’s first-ever post-season berth in just its second season of varsity competition, as the Buccaneers of Head Coach Leslie Bullis are seeded sixth in the 2013 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships that begin on Tuesday evening with quarterfinal round action.
Massachusetts Maritime, which notched a pair of victories during regular season play this spring, will travel to Worcester, Mass. on Tuesday, April 30th to take on third-seeded Worcester State in a MASCAC quarterfinal clash at Coughlin Field in Worcester, Mass. beginning at 7:00 p.m. EDT. The winner of that match will advance to Thursday’s conference semi-finals to take on second-seeded Westfield State at Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. that also begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT, and the 2013 MASCAC championship match will be played on Saturday, May 4th at the site of the highest remaining seed.
It’s been quite a first two seasons of varsity play for Massachusetts Maritime, as the Buccaneers earned both the New England Women’s Lacrosse Alliance and MASCAC Presidential Sportsmanship Awards in their inaugural campaign in 2012, and this spring Bullis, a former lacrosse standout at Division II Bentley, has guided her squad to the Academy’s first MASCAC post-season berth in women’s intercollegiate athletics since 2006.
The Buccaneers are led in scoring by freshman attack Shavonne Boyle (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood), who has netted 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points in 11 contests and was named as the MASCAC Player of the Week on April 1st after tallying five times in a 14-12 triumph over Framingham State. Senior midfielder Kim Courcy (Warwick, R.I./Warwick) and freshman attack Molly Smith (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) are tied for second in scoring with 22 goals and four assists for 26 points each, while senior midfielder Shelagh Hogan (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) and freshman attack Janine Prokscha (Washington, Conn./Gunnery Prep) are also in double figures for Bullis with a combined 18 goals and six assists for 24 points. Sophomore Deb Langley (Abington, Mass./South Shore Voke) has been a solid last line of defense throughout the season for Massachusetts Maritime, as she leads the Buccaneers and the conference with 165 saves while playing all 13 contests in the cage.
Worcester State, which ended the regular season at 11-4 overall and 4-2 in league play under veteran Head Coach Deb Draper, is led in scoring by freshman midfielder Jackie Connors, who has collected 35 goals and 18 assists for 53 points, and sophomore attack Molly Kilday, who follows with 38 goals and 14 assists for 52 points. Senior Alex Chisholm has made 94 saves in goal for the Lancers this spring while posting a 12.77 goals against average.
Massachusetts Maritime looks to avenge a 17-2 setback suffered to Worcester State in the regular season meeting between the two squads back on April 20th at Coughlin Field.
Tuesday’s match highlights and statistics will be available at www.mmabucs.com. If available, the contest can also be viewed live at www.mmabucs.tv or followed via live stats at www.mmabucslivestats.com.
