(Box Score)

            DANBURY, Conn. – Freshman Marie Lander (Ossipee, N.H.) scored a career-high five goals Saturday afternoon as Plymouth State University held on to defeat Western Connecticut State University, 16-10, in a Little East Conference women's lacrosse game at the Westside Athletic Complex.

            Trailing 15-10 with nine minutes to play, WestConn scored five of the game's final six goals but PSU goalkeeper Morgan Lemmon (Gilford, N.H.) made two key stops in the final 30 seconds to preserve the victory.  PSU won its third straight game to improve to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in the LEC, while WestConn dropped to 9-5 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

            Lander doubled her season goal total with five goals, and sophomore Jenn Foley (Tewksbury, Mass.) chipped in with three goals.  Sophomores Brianna Davis (Farmington, Mass.), Britney Chiles (North Andover, Mass.), and Jill Gerzabek (Branford, Conn.) each scored twice for the winners.

            Kara Kruczkiewicz (Brookfield, Conn.) led the WestConn offensive attack with five goals.  Freshmen Nicole Perrone (Brookfield, Conn.) and Emily Brooks (Kingston, N.Y.) each added two goals for the Colonials.

            The first half wasa see-saw battle.  Kruczkiewicz gave WestConn an early 2-0 advantage, but PSU rebounded with three straight goalsin a 30-second span to take its first lead.  The Colonials answered with four unanswered tallies to regain the lead (6-3) with 10 minutes to go in the first half.  PSU again battled back to tie the score at 6-6, but WestConn ended the half with a 7-6 lead.

            After the home team pulled ahead 10-7 early in the second half, PSU rattled off eight unanswered goals, two by Lander and the next six by six different Panthers, while holding the Colonials scoreless to give the visitors the 15-10 lead with nine minutes to play.

            WestConn rallied, and pulled to within one goal (16-15) with 1:46 on the clock.  The Panthers were able to control the ball for about one minute, but the Colonials regained possession and had two last chances at tying the game, but Lemmon saved the victory for PSU.

            The Colonials held a 36-25 advantage in shots in the game.  Morgan, who repeatedly denied WestConn's free-position attempts, stopping eight of 12, finished with 13 saves for PSU.

            Plymouth State returns home to host Rhode Island College Sunday at Arold Field in an LEC mark-up game (1:00 p.m.).  WestConn returns to action next Saturday when it travels to Little East rival UMass Dartmouth. 

(Courtesy of Western Connecticut Sports Information) 

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