PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After having to wait an entire year to defend its Little East Conference (LEC) title, Plymouth State University took an impressive first step towards a fourth-straight crown by topping Rhode Island College, 17-3, in an LEC women's lacrosse game at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
Playing a conference game for the first time since capturing the 2019 LEC Championship, the Panthers opened the game with eight straight goals and led 11-1 at the half.
 
Graduate student Sydney Dubois (Goffstown, N.H.) led the powerful Panthers' offense with five goals, while senior Elizabeth McLaughlin (Melvin Village, N.H.) and sophomores Emily Santom (Litchfield, N.H.) and Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) also recorded hat tricks.
 
Plymouth State has won 14-straight LEC regular season games and 19-of-20. The Panthers' last conference loss came in the regular season finale of the 2017 season, just days before PSU went on to capture its first of three straight conference tournament championships.
 
Plymouth State opens the year with a win (1-0, 1-0 LEC), while the Anchorwomen (0-1, 0-1 LEC) drop their home opener.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 17, Rhode Island College 3
  • Plymouth State (1-0, 1-0 LEC)
  • Rhode Island College (0-1, 0-1 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Plymouth State
  • Sydney Dubois (5 goals, 1 ast, 6 draw controls)
  • Emily Santom (3 goals, 3 asts, 3 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers)
  • Elizabeth McLaughlin (3 goals, 1 ast, 4 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers, 4 draw controls)

How it Happened:

• Dubois got the Panthers off to a quick start, tallying her first goal of the day 4:08 into the game. Santom and Croke both scored in the next 90 seconds and junior Devon Mello (Laconia, N.H.) made it 4-0 moments later.
• Santom, Dubois and Croke combined to account for the next four goals, with Croke scoring twice and Santom adding a goal and two assists, as PSU pushed the advantage to 8-0 midway through the half.
• RIC broke through to temporarily stop the momentum, but Dubois answered with the next three goals as PSU took an 11-1 lead into the break.
• Junior Kaylee St. Laurent (Alfred, Maine) got the second half scoring started and McLaughlin followed with back-to-back goals before Santom completed the hat trick to increase the margin to 15-1 with 20 minutes remaining.
• After a second RIC goal, freshman Tarryn O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass.) scored her first collegiate goal before assisting on McLaughlin's third of the game with seven minutes to play.
• The Anchorwomen added a late tally to account for the final score.

By the Numbers:

• Plymouth State held a 31-10 advantage in shots on goal and was a perfect 7-of-7 on clear attempts.
• The Panthers held a 33-25 edge in ground balls and won 12-of-20 draw controls.
• Dubois' five goals matched her career high.
• Senior Meaghan Allard (Amherst, N.H.) made seven saves to improve to 1-0.
• McLaughlin, Mello and freshman Emily Le Do (Portsmouth, R.I.) each snagged four ground balls.
• PSU improves to 19-1 all-time against the Anchorwomen. The Panthers have won each of the last 13 meetings by a combined 228-56 score.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State hosts Eastern Connecticut State University next Saturday (Apr. 3) for an LEC contest at PSU's new turf facility – Panther Field. Opening draw is set for noon.