MacDonald and Wilder power Panthers to convincing win

            PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Amy MacDonald (Hull, Mass.) and sophomore Kaitlyn Wilder (Framingham, Mass.) combined to record 15 points Saturday afternoon as Plymouth State University rolled to a 21-6 victory over Rhode Island College in the Little East Conference women's lacrosse regular season finale for both teams.

            The Panthers (12-3, 6-0 LEC) claimed the outright Little East regular season championship with the victory, while the Anchorwomen (0-13, 0-6 LEC) end their season.
            MacDonald matched her career high of 10 points with four goals and six assists, while Wilder equaled her career-best with five goals. MacDonald leads the team and ranks fourth in the LEC with 54 goals.

            Freshman Megan Tingley (Natick, Mass.) added two goals and three assists for PSU and senior Rachel Fistori (Medford, Mass.) also scored twice.

            Seniors Danielle Landon (Wading River, N.Y.) and Jessica Ricci (Hope, R.I.) combined for four goals and two assists for the Anchorwomen.

            Plymouth State opened the game with a 5-0 run in the first 3:31 of the game, fueled by Wilder's two goals. Landon stopped the Panthers' run, scoring her 28th goal of the season off a Ricci feed, with 25:22 left in the first, but Plymouth ripped off the next six goals, paced by MacDonald's two goals and two assists, to take a commanding 11-1 lead.

            RIC sophomore Betsy Heidel (Warwick, R.I.) made the score 11-2 with 14:29 remaining in the frame, but the Panthers outscored RIC 4-1 down the stretch to take a 15-3 lead into halftime.

            The teams alternated goals the first eight minutes of the second half before PSU put in four straight goals to win going away.

            PSU senior Casey Curran (Framingham, Mass.) stopped one shot in the victory (11-3). Sophomore Meg Brault (South Windsor, Conn.) played the second half for the Panthers.

            Plymouth State enjoys a first-round bye in the LEC Tournament, which begins on Tuesday; the Panthers will host a semifinal game on Thursday.

(With contributions from Rhode Island College Sports Information) 

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