FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Seniors
Emily Santom (Litchfield, N.H.) and
Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) scored four goals apiece and Plymouth State University rallied from a third quarter deficit to top Framingham State University, 16-13, in a non-conference women's lacrosse game at Maple Street Field on Thursday afternoon.
The Rams got out to a hot start, building a 5-1 lead through the first period. Plymouth State rallied in the second quarter and the game went into halftime deadlocked at 7-7. The lead changed hands three times in a back-and-forth third quarter, with Santom putting the Panthers in front for good with her free position goal with 10 seconds left in the frame. PSU was able to hold the Rams at arm's length in the fourth quarter to pick up the win.
Plymouth State jumps to 4-3, while the Rams fall to 3-4.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 16, Framingham State 13
- Plymouth State (4-3)
- Framingham State (3-4)
How it Happened:
- The Rams raced out to a 3-0 lead until Croke put Plymouth State on the board with just under five minutes left in the first.
- Framingham State answered with two more in the final four minutes to take a 5-1 lead into the second quarter.
- Santom scored in the opening minute of the second, but the Rams answered right back.
- The Plymouth State offense kicked into gear from that point, closing the half with a 5-1 run to go into halftime deadlocked at 7-7. Croke scored twice in the spurt, with Santom, senior Amelia Thomas (Hopkinton, N.H.) and sophomore Jenna Stowell (Londonderry, N.H.) also finding the back of the cage.
- Stowell gave Plymouth State its first lead 48 seconds into the third, but the hosts answered back with three straight scores to go up 10-8.
- Santom buried her third of the day with 9:19 left in the period, but Framingham responded three minutes later for an 11-9 advantage.
- Plymouth State stormed back with four straight goals. Sophomore Maddie Hunt (Acton, Mass.) cut the deficit to one and Croke's free position goal tied the game with 1:29 left in the third. Santom added a free position goal to put the Panthers ahead in the final seconds of the period and junior Megan Gaspa (Laconia, N.H.) scored to open the fourth for a 13-11 lead.
- Framingham State pulled within one, but Hunt notched back-to-back scores. The Rams answered to trail 15-13 with five minutes to play but Stowell put the comeback bid to rest, icing the win in the last two minutes.
By the Numbers:
- Santom added four assists to her four goals to finish with a game-high eight points.
- Croke finished with four goals and three assists, while Hunt and Stowell chipped in three goals apiece. Stowell added eight draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers to her stat line.
- Sophomore Margie Black (Longmeadow, Mass.) made six saves and scooped up a team-best four ground balls.
- Plymouth State held a 34-22 edge in shots and won the draw control (18-15) and ground ball (19-15) battles.
- The Panthers earned 13 free position attempts, converting on five, while Framingham finished 3-for-3.
- Plymouth State improves to 5-0 against the Rams, though this was the first meeting since the 2013 season.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State is idle for more than a week, returning to action to host UMass Dartmouth in the LEC opener on April 1.
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