SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Top-seeded Western New England remained unbeaten in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with a 16-9 victory over visiting Gordon in the CCC semifinals on Wednesday afternoon. The Golden Bears head to the CCC Championship game against Roger Williams on Saturday, while Gordon awaits a potential ECAC bid.
 
The Golden Bears took a stranglehold on the game over the first 20 minutes by outscoring the Scots 5-1 during that span. Gordon was able to limit the Golden Bears from getting into a rhythm during the early part of the game, but WNE's defense held fast against a high-scoring Scots offense on the other end.
 
Jessica Scannapieco (Blue Bell, Pa.) scored three times during the early run, while Tori Cirocco (Carmel, N.Y.) and Kaitlynn Stevens  (Stratford, Conn.) both added a goal.
 
Gordon's Abby Illian (Hillsdale, N.J.) provided much of the offense for the Scots all afternoon, notching her first career five-goal game. The senior midfielder scored two of Gordon's three goals in the first half, while Caroline Walton (Irvine, Calif.) tallied the other.
 
The Golden Bears outshot Gordon 14-7 in the first half and held an 8-3 advantage on the scoreboard at the break. Every other statistical category saw the teams about even, except Gordon was only able to execute five out of 12 clear opportunities.
 
The combination of leading scorers Scannapieco and Stevens allowed the Bears to pull away to a 13-4 lead with under 15 minutes to play. Illian added three more goals in the second half, but Gordon was never able to creep closer than a six-goal difference.
 
Jessie Castelline (Concord, Mass.) and Becky Smith (Verona, N.J.) also scored for Gordon.
 
Gordon goalkeeper Jackie Kiernan (Lexington, Mass.) made six stops in goal in the loss, while Emily Castleman (Wilbraham, Mass.) earned the win with eight saves.
 
The Fighting Scots will find out if they received a bid to the ECAC New England tournament this weekend.