PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore
Sarah Schartner (Plymouth, N.H.) notched her third goal of the day on a free position shot with 3:18 left in overtime to lift Plymouth State University to an 11-10 win over Keene State College in a Little East Conference (LEC) women's lacrosse game at Panther Field on Saturday morning.
Keene State held a 9-6 lead with 16 minutes left in regulation, but the Panthers mounted a furious comeback and Schartner's second goal of the afternoon gave PSU a 10-9 lead with 3:28 to play. The Owls came right back to even the score with 1:39 remaining and the teams went into overtime.
KSC had a free position opportunity early in the extra frame, but senior goaltender
Meaghan Allard (Amherst, N.H.) made a huge save and Plymouth State used the momentum, earning three free position shots, with Schartner beating the Owls' goalie for the win.
Plymouth State snaps its two-game skid to improve to 5-2 (5-2 LEC). The Panthers will enter next week's LEC Tournament as either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed depending on the outcome of other league games this afternoon. Keene State moves to 5-3 (5-2 LEC) and will be the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.
Prior to the game Plymouth State honored its graduating class –
Elizabeth McLaughlin (Melvin Village, N.H.),
Faye Brown (Londonderry, N.H.),
Sarah Jackes (Londonderry, N.H.),
Sydney Dubois (Goffstown, N.H.) and Allard – in a brief on-field ceremony.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 11, Keene State 10 (OT)
- Plymouth State (5-2, 5-2 LEC)
- Keene State (5-3, 5-2 LEC)
Top Performers:
How it Happened:
- Dubois got the Panthers off to a good start with a goal just 1:31 into the game, but Keene State answered with three straight tallies.
- McLaughlin's first of the afternoon cut the deficit to 3-2, but Keene responded with a pair of goals to push the margin to 5-2 with 13 minutes left in the half.
- Dubois and McLaughlin went back-to-back for PSU, with McLaughlin taking advantage of a Keene yellow card, to make it a one-goal game, 5-4.
- Keene converted a free position attempt with 5:26 left, but McLaughlin responded with a free position goal of her own two minutes later.
- The Owls took a 7-5 lead into intermission after a free position goal with just over a minute left in the half.
- McLaughlin converted a perfect feed from sophomore Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) to bring the Panthers to within one, 7-6, but KSC scored the next two to make it 9-6 with 20:42 left on the clock.
- The intensity picked up from there as PSU found the back of the cage three times in a 92-second span to even the game. McLaughlin's fifth of the day kicked off the spurt, with Schartner and Dubois also scoring in the stretch.
- PSU converted another woman-up opportunity to pull in front when Schartner beat the KSC goaltender on a feed from junior Kaylee St. Laurent (Alfred, Maine) with 3:28 to play, but the Owls answered just under two minutes later to force overtime.
- Keene had a chance at the win, but Allard came up with a huge stop on a free position attempt and after back-to-back saves by the Owls' goalie on a pair of PSU free position attempts, Schartner finally broke through for the win.
By the Numbers:
- Keene held a 32-21 advantage in shots, but Allard's career-high 16 saves kept PSU in the game.
- The Panthers converted 22-of-28 clear attempts, while Keene was 16-of-17.
- Allard improved to 5-2 on the season after recording double-digit saves for the third straight game.
- Schartner recorded her first career hat trick, finishing with three goals on three shots.
- Jackes led the Panthers with four ground balls while sophomore Autumn Nelson (Weare, N.H.) posted a team-high three caused turnovers.
Up Next:
- The Little East Conference Tournament opens with first round games on Tuesday (Apr. 27), with the top two seeds earning byes into the semifinal round on Thursday (Apr. 29).
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