DANBURY, Conn. – In a battle for sole possession of the top spot in the Little East Conference (LEC) standings, Western Connecticut State University held off Plymouth State University, 9-4, in women's lacrosse action at Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
 
WestConn used back-to-back goals to break a 3-3 tie and go into halftime with a 5-3 advantage. The Colonials upped the lead two minutes into the second half, but PSU came right back less than two minutes later. That would be the Panthers' final tally, though, as WestConn added three scores to secure the win.
 
The matchup featured the conference's last two unbeaten teams who had each coasted through the LEC schedule. Entering the game PSU had trounced the competition by a 68-12 margin, while the Colonials outscored opponents 65-21.
 
Plymouth State had won 17 straight LEC regular season games and 23-of-24. The Panthers' last conference loss came against Eastern Connecticut State University in the 2017 regular season finale.
 
Plymouth State falls to 4-1 (4-1 LEC), while WestConn improves to 5-0 (5-0 LEC).
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 4, Western Conn. St. 9
  • Plymouth State (4-1, 4-1 LEC)
  • Western Conn. St. (5-0, 5-0 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Olivia Croke (2 goals, 2 ground balls)
• Meaghan Allard (11 saves, 5 ground balls)

How it Happened:

• WestConn set an early tone scoring just 24 seconds into the game.
• Freshman Tarryn O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass.) pulled the Panthers even with a free position goal just over two minutes later and sophomore Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) gave Plymouth State its only lead of the day, 2-1, with 25:12 left in the first half.
• The Colonials came right back to even the game 15 seconds later, before going back in front, 3-2, with 16:45 remaining.
• Croke scored her ninth of the year to tie the game at 3-3, but WCSU senior Caroline Galligan (Marshfield, Mass.) picked up her third goal of the afternoon as the Colonials retook the lead.
• Galligan would strike again with 1:23 left in the half as WestConn took a 5-3 lead into the break.
• The Colonials padded the lead two minutes into the second half, but graduate student Sydney Dubois (Goffstown, N.H.) answered for the Panthers.
• The hosts took a timeout with 21:55 left to play, then scored back-to-back goals to push the lead to 8-4, before adding one final score with 14:28 remaining to account for the final score.

By the Numbers:

• WestConn outshot the Panthers by a 31-10 margin.
• The Colonials won 9-of-14 draw controls and picked up 25 ground balls to PSU's 15.
• Plymouth State was successful on 17-of-25 clears, while WestConn converted on 14-of-17 attempts.
• Senior Meaghan Allard (Amherst, N.H.) matched a career high with 11 saves but fell to 4-1. She added a team-best five ground balls.
• Entering the game, the teams ranked among the top-two in the conference in goals per game, shots per game, shots on goal per game, saves percentage, goals against average, scoring margin and fewest turnovers.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State returns home for its last two regular season games next week starting with the University of Southern Maine on Tuesday (Apr. 20).