Norris and Carroll score twice each for Panthers

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior Erin Norris and sophomore Lauren Carroll scored two goals apiece Tuesday afternoon to lift Plymouth State University to a 5-2 victory over New England College in non-conference field hockey action at Arold Field.

            PSU led just 2-1 at halftime and shots were fairly even, with the home team holding a 9-8 advantage.  The second half was a different story as the Panthers out-shot the Pilgrims by a 21-4 count.  PSU rattled off three unanswered goals in an eight-minute span to put the game away and improve to 4-0 on the season, while NEC dropped to 1-4.

            The score could have been more lopsided were it not for the play of NEC goalie Mary Roux, who made 16 saves, as well as two Pilgrim defenders who made defensive saves.

            NEC nearly got on the board first when the Pilgrims were awarded a penalty stroke nine minutes into the contest, but PSU junior goalie Hilary Lemelin made the save going to her right to keep the game scoreless.

            Norris put the first two goals on the board for the Panthers in the first 16 minutes of the game.  She knocked in the first one on a rebound at 11:29, and followed that with a shot from the left side at 16:02 that found its way through traffic into the left side of the goal for a 2-0 Panther lead.  NEC got on the board six minutes later when Emily Kuchta pounced on a rebound and knocked in her third goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game at the half.

            The Panthers came out strong in the second half, firing shots on the NEC goal.  Roux made two saves on a series of PSU shots, but sophomore Jackie Morin knocked home the third attempt to put PSU up 3-1.  Carroll redirected a diagonal pass from Morin four minutes later to make it 4-1, and Carroll added her second of the game when she weaved through the defense and broke in alone on the Pilgrim net to score her third goal of the season.

            The Pilgrims tacked on a final goal with about seven minutes remaining, completing a successful penalty corner with Kuchta taking the corner and senior Katherine Rich scoring her first goal of the season.

            PSU finished with a 30-12 advantage in shots.  Lemelin earned the victory for PSU with five saves.

            Plymouth State plays another Granite State foe on Thursday, traveling to Colby-Sawyer College for a 4:00 p.m. start.  NEC hosts Thomas College in a North Atlantic Conference match Saturday at 1:00 p.m. 

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