MASCAC QUARTERFINALS: No.6 Salem State Comes up Short at No. 3 Bridgewater State, 12-9

THE BASICS

No. 6 Salem State, 9 at No. 3 Bridgewater State, 12

Records: 

Bridgewater State Bears (8-10)

Salem State Vikings (8-7)

Location: Bridgewater, Mass. - Mazzaferro Field

Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2026

THE LEAD: The No. 6 seed Salem State women's lacrosse team saw its Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) playoff run come to an end after falling to No. 3 seed Bridgewater State by a score of 12-9 Tuesday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Less than a minute into the first (14:10), Aislinn Bennett (Milford, Mass.) gave the Vikes an early 1-0 lead after a great look from Jordan Turcotte (Danvers, Mass.). As the first went on both sides played each other hard before Bridgewater evened the contest at one with 06:37 left in the first.
• However, Kaylee Rich (Danvers, Mass.) gave Salem the lead right back off a free position attempt with 02:59 remaining in the frame. Despite the lead, the Bears offense closed out the opening quarter with four-straight goals and took a 5-2 lead going into the second.
• After an early Bears goal pushed the hosts' lead to four (6-2), Bennett cut the deficit in half after taking advantage of a Bears green card earlier. Bridgewater responded thoguh with two scores of its own and had its largest lead of the night (8-3). However, with 02:52 left in the half, Rich cut the Bears lead to four and the squad went into halftime down 8-4.
• In the third, it was all Salem as the squad outscored Bridgewater 4-1 and pulled within one going into the final quarter. Despite an early Bridgewater goal that started the quarter, the Blue and Orange scored four unanswered goals over the last 10 minutes, with scores from Olivia Tednes (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), Laura Young (Leominster, Mass.), Rich, and Turcotte. 
• Bridgewater gave itself some breathing room to start the final quarter, scoring a goal from Meredith Sylvia at 13:20, which made it 10-8. Salem answered back three minutes later (10:20) when Turcotte fired her shot home and brought the Vikes within one again (10-9). Despite the Turcotte score, the Bears never let the squad get any closer, as the hosts finished the quarter with two late goals from Erin Henn (02:08) and Kate Fitzpatrick (00:07), securing a 12-9 win. 

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Salem's offense featured three different multi-goal scorers led by Rich's three. Turcotte and Bennett were not far behind with two apiece.
• Nora Bradley (Haddon Township, N.J.) ended up with the loss after making a season-high 14 saves in 60:00 of action. 
• Sylvia led the Bridgewater offense with five goals on the night.
• Sara Skaff earned the win by making 11 stops in her 60:00 in net.
• Despite the loss, Salem finished the year with at least three road wins in three of the last four seasons.