PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Playing at home for the first time since the 2019 Little East Conference (LEC) championship game, the Plymouth State University women's lacrosse team rolled to a 10-4 win over Eastern Connecticut State University in an LEC contest at Panther Field on Saturday.
Senior goalie
Meaghan Allard (Amherst, N.H.) was outstanding in the cage making eight saves to help limit the Warriors' offense to just four goals, well below the team's season average of nearly 20. Graduate student
Sydney Dubois (Goffstown, N.H.) and sophomore
Emily Santom (Litchfield, N.H.) each finished with three goals to pace the PSU offense, with Santom adding an assist for a game-high four points.
The win, Plymouth State's first on its new turf field, improves the Panthers to 2-0 (2-0 LEC), while Eastern Connecticut sees its four-game winning streak stopped to drop to 7-2 (1-1 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 10, Eastern Conn. St. 4
- Plymouth State (2-0, 2-0 LEC)
- Eastern Conn. St. (7-2, 1-1 LEC)
Top Performers:
How it Happened:
- After seven minutes of scoreless up-and-down the field action, Plymouth State took the lead when junior Kaylee St. Laurent (Alfred, Maine) converted a free position shot during a player-up opportunity.
- Dubois added to the lead just a minute later with her sixth of the year.
- The Warriors cut into the deficit at the 20-minute mark, but Santom answered with back-to-back goals to push the lead to 4-1 with 12 minutes left in the half.
- Sophomore Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) tallied her fourth of the year with 6:19 remaining to give the Panthers a 5-1 lead at the half.
- Croke and St. Laurent pushed the advantage to 7-1 with goals in the opening two minutes of the second half, and moments later Santom completed the hat trick with the Panthers' sixth-straight goal.
- Eastern Connecticut came right back as sophomore Caroline Stent (Weatogue, Conn.) won the ensuing draw control and raced down the field to score, but Dubois converted a perfect feed from Santom a minute later to make it 9-2.
- The Warriors chipped away with consecutive goals, but Dubois capped the win with her third of the afternoon with 1:11 left to play to close out the victory.
By the Numbers:
- Allard's eight saves were a season high and included many stops from point-blank range. She added seven ground balls and three caused turnovers.
- Eastern Connecticut outshot the Panthers by a 21-15 margin.
- PSU held a narrow 24-23 advantage in ground balls, while the teams evenly split 16 draw controls.
- Senior Elizabeth McLaughlin (Melvin Village, N.H.) finished with four ground balls, three draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers.
- Graduate student Sarah Jackes (Londonderry, N.H.) and junior Devon Mello (Laconia, N.H.) each scooped up three ground balls, while Mello added a team-best four caused turnovers.
- PSU has won each of the last five head-to-head matchups between the two teams.
- Eastern Connecticut's four goals were easily its lowest offensive output of the season. The Warriors entered the contest averaging over 19 goals per game and had scored 20 or more in seven-of-eight games.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State hosts the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in another LEC battle next Saturday (Apr. 10) at noon.
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