PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) exploded for five goals and three assists in the first half as third-seeded Plymouth State University roared past sixth-seeded Castleton University, 21-2, in the opening round of the Little East Conference (LEC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament under the lights at Panther Field on Tuesday night.
 
Plymouth State advances to the Thursday's (Apr. 29) semifinal round when the Panthers will travel to second-seeded University of Southern Maine for a 4:00 p.m. game.
 
The Panthers, winners of three-straight LEC Tournament titles, scored three times in a 56-second span to open the game and built an insurmountable, 15-1 lead by halftime before coasting to the win.
 
Plymouth State improves to 6-2, while the Spartans end the year with a 3-9 record.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 21, Castleton 2
  • Plymouth State (6-2)
  • Castleton (3-9)

Top Performers:

• Olivia Croke (5 goals, 3 assts)
• Elizabeth McLaughlin (2 goals, 4 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers, 6 draw controls)
• Meaghan Allard (7 saves, 7 ground balls)

How it Happened:

• Croke set an early tone for the Panthers, scoring twice around a tally by junior Kaylee St. Laurent (Alfred, Maine) to make it 3-0 after the first four minutes.
• Graduate student Sydney Dubois (Goffstown, N.H.) converted a feed from Croke and sophomore Emily Santom (Litchfield, N.H.) scored back-to-back goals as PSU pushed the lead to 6-0 just over eight minutes in.
• St. Laurent buried a feed from Croke and freshman Tarryn O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass.) and junior Devon Mello (Laconia, N.H.) each found the back of the cage as the lead grew to 10-0 with 12 minutes left in the half.
• Castleton momentarily stopped the momentum, but Croke answered right back to spark a 5-0 spurt to close the half. Croke would add another goal and assist on Santom's second of the game in the run as PSU went into the break with a 15-1 advantage.
• Senior Elizabeth McLaughlin (Melvin Village, N.H.) fired in a pair of goals and Santom picked up her fourth of the game to make it 18-1.
• Mello and O'Brien found the back of the net and sophomore Autumn Nelson (Weare, N.H.) followed with her first career marker before Castleton closed the scoring.

By the Numbers:

• PSU held a 38-13 advantage in shots, including 26-7 in the first half.
• The Panthers went 14-for-15 on clears, while limiting Castleton to just 9-of-19.
• Plymouth State led the ground ball battle 24-8 and won 15-of-24 draws.
• Croke's eight points matched the Panthers' game-high for the season.
• Santom finished with four goals and two assists. She is tied with McLaughlin for the team-lead with 22 goals on the season.
• Senior Meaghan Allard (Amherst, N.H.) grabbed a game-high seven ground balls and made seven saves to improve to 6-2 on the year.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State heads to second-seeded Southern Maine on Thursday (Apr. 29) for a semifinal matchup.