Salem Drops Home Finale vs. Westfield; Bennett and Bradley Achieve Career Milestones

THE BASICS

Salem State, 4 vs. Westfield State, 15

Records: 

Westfield State Owls (8-7, 5-0 MASCAC)

Salem State Vikings (8-4, 2-3 MASCAC)

Location: Salem, Mass. - Alumni Field

Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

THE LEAD: The Salem State women's lacrosse team closed out its home portion of the 2026 season with a 15-4 loss to Westfield State on Friday evening. Despite the loss, Aislinn Bennett (Milford, Mass.) recorded her 100th career point, and Nora Bradley (Haddon Township, N.J.) notched her 400th save. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Throughout the first two quarters, it was all Westfield. The visitors outscored the Vikings 9-0 in the first half. During the Owls' offensive blitz, Marena Morales led the way with a hat trick. 
• The Owls continued where they left off to start the third when they pushed the lead to 10 (10-0). However, Salem finally got on the board courtesy of a Laura Young (Leominster, Mass.) free position shot. Not far after, Bennett got in on the scoring and found the back of the net off a free position as well, which made it 10-2. 
• Salem continued its aggressive play in the third when Kaylee Rich (Danvers, Mass.) made it a seven-point game (10-3) with a little over five minutes left in the third (05:01). Despite the late surge of offense for the Vikes, Westfield pushed its lead back to nine (12-3) with scores from Mercedes Rozzi and Arianna Andersen to end the quarter.
• During the final quarter, Westfield scored the first two goals of the fourth and pushed its lead to 11 (14-3). Salem would not go quietly in the quarter when Chelsea Martinez (Salem, Mass.) potted the Blue and Orange's fourth goal with 03:58 left to play. The Owls would cap off the contest with another score less than a minute to play (00:35) and ultimately win by a score of 15-4. 

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Bennett became the sixth Viking in program history to reach the 100-point mark. She is currently tied for sixth all-time.
• Bradley ended up with the loss on Friday after making 10 stops. She currently has a program record of 405 saves. 
• Morales led the Owls' offense with five scores on the night.
• Izzy Conley got the start and won for Westfield after making six saves.
• Salem finishes the year with five home wins for the first time since the 2021-22 season. 

UP NEXT:

Salem hits the road for a two-game road trip starting on Tuesday, April 21 when the squad heads to Bridgewater State for a 7:00 p.m. start.