Box Score 
PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Second-seeded Plymouth
State University jumped out to a 4-1 lead and then had to hold on
for a 4-3 victory over third-seeded University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth Thursday afternoon in a Little East Conference Field
Hockey Tournament semifinal game at Arold Field.
The Panthers captured their eighth straight victory and improved to
13-6 overall. PSU advances to the LEC Championship game for
the first time since 2004, and will face four-time defending
champion Keene State College Saturday in Keene. The
top-seeded Owls advanced to the championship match Thursday evening
with a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over fourth-seeded University of
Suthern Maine. UMD had its seven-game winning streak snapped and
completes its season at 16-6.
Four different players scored goals for PSU, with junior
Sarah Smith (Lexington, Mass.) picking up a goal
and an assist, while senior Rebecca Stephens
(North Andover, Mass.) scored two goals and sophomore
Stephanie Kinchla (Falmouth, Mass.) added a goal
and an assist for the Corsairs.
The game was scoreless for the first 20 minutes until freshman
Christina Parisi (Hampton Falls, N.H.) put the
Panthers on the board. UMD junior goalie Seanna
Golden (Somerset, Mass.) made a save on a shot by junior
Kerry D'Ambroise (Lowell, Mass.) but Parisi was
there to knock in the rebound for her second goal of the
season. The Corsairs answered five minutes later when
Stephens scored the first of two goals, finishing off a nice
crossing pass from Kinchla.
It looked like the teams would go into halftime tied at 1-1, but
PSU scored twice in just over a minute to take a 3-1 advantage at
the break. Senior Ashley Gutowski (Conway,
N.H.) deflected a shot past Golden on a Panther penalty corner for
her 13th goal of the season, with D'Ambroise and freshman
Lauren Bergeron (New Hampton, N.H.) picking up
assists, and senior Sarah Smith (Lexington, Mass.)
made it 3-1 with her team-leading 17th goal of the
season just a minute and 15 seconds later.
PSU extended the lead to 4-1 six minutes into the second half when
a cross by Smith was knocked in by sophomore Kristina
Conroy (Wakefield, Mass.)
The Corsairs would not go quietly and battled back to within a
goal. Stephens picked up a loose ball and found the back of
the net for her 15th goal of the season with 23:40
remaining, and Kinchla made it 4-3 with her team-leading
23rd of the season on a penalty corner with 10:38
remaining, with sophomore Becca Festinger
(Greenfield, Mass.) and junior Kylie Treat
(Hampstead, N.H.) assisting. But that's as close as the
Corsairs could come.
Golden finished with 19 saves while PSU freshman keeper
Elyse Sedgley (Hopkinton, NH) made four saves to
earn the win.
PSU will be making its seventh appearance in the LEC championship
game. The Panthers won three straight titles from 2000-02,
and finished runner-up in 1998, 1999, and 2004. The LEC
champion receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
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