KEENE, N.H. – Junior
Maddie Hunt (Littleton, Mass.) poured in five goals and classmate
Margie Black (Longmeadow, Mass.) made eight saves as fourth-seeded Plymouth State University powered past second-seeded Keene State College, 15-6, in the championship game of the Little East Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Owl Athletic Complex on Saturday.
Hunt scored twice in the opening five minutes as PSU jumped out to a 3-1 lead, though the Owls pulled to within 4-3 at the end of the first. The teams traded goals in the second before back-to-back scores from juniors
Jenna Stowell (Londonderry, N.H.) and
Julia Donovan (Antrim, N.H.) pushed the lead to 7-4 at the half.
The Panthers put the game away in the third quarter. Hunt notched her third of the game just 25 seconds in to spark a 4-0 run as the lead ballooned to 11-4. Plymouth State would cruise from there, extending the lead in the fourth quarter with Hunt providing the exclamation point with consecutive tallies in the final minutes.
Black was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after posting a .500 save percentage and 6.67 goals against average through the Panthers' three postseason games.
Plymouth State, which was making its tenth straight appearance in the LEC Championship game, improves to 13-6, capturing its league-record tenth LEC title and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The back-to-back champions will learn their tournament fate when the NCAA selection show airs on NCAA.com on Monday (May 6) at 10:30 a.m.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 15, Keene State 6
- Plymouth State (13-6)
- Keene State (12-6)
How it Happened:
- Hunt got the Panthers off on the right foot with her first goal less than a minute in, but the Owls answered back 47 seconds later.
- Senior Elle Moshier (Stratford, Conn.) and Hunt went back-to-back to regain the lead and Plymouth State would stay in front the rest of the way.
- Keene State would sandwich a pair of goals around Moshier's second of the game to make it 4-3 at the end of one.
- Stowell scored a woman-up goal just 11 seconds into the second quarter, but the hosts would answer back midway through the period to once again pull within one, 5-4.
- The Panthers took over from there. Stowell poured in another woman-up goal nine seconds later and PSU would go on a game-deciding 6-0 run.
- Donovan made it 7-4 at the half and Hunt and Moshier poured in tallies in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
- Senior Tarryn O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass.) got into the scoring column with 9:23 left in the quarter before Donovan found the back of the cage for the second time to make it 11-4.
- The teams swapped goals, with senior Megan Gaspa (Laconia, N.H.) getting into the action, as PSU took a 12-5 lead into the fourth quarter.
- Keene State got one back roughly two minutes in, but senior Amelia Thomas (Hopkinton, N.H.) responded with six minutes to play and Hunt put the icing on the cake with her final two tallies.
By the Numbers:
- Hunt poured in five goals and added a pair of ground balls.
- Black made eight saves to secure the win.
- Moshier chipped in three goals and an assist, while Donovan added a pair of goals with an assist.
- O'Brien also finished with three points on a goal and two assists, while Stowell scored twice and snagged nine draw controls.
- Gaspa grabbed five draw controls and snared three ground balls, while freshman Grace Campo (Chelmsford, Mass.) had a team-high three caused turnovers.
- Plymouth State held a 40-21 advantage in shots and went 17-for-19 in clears.
- PSU wont 17-of-24 draw controls and finished 3-for-7 in free position attempts.
- The Panthers outlasted Keene State (16-14) during the regular season matchup on Apr. 20.
- Plymouth State was playing in its 16th LEC Championship game.
- PSU moves to 9-3 against the Owls in LEC Tournament play. It was the fifth meeting between the two teams in the title game. They had split the previous four matchups, with PSU winning the title in 2004 and 2014, and the Owls claiming victories in 2015 and 2016.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State will wait to learn its NCAA Tournament opponent when the NCAA airs its selection show on NCAA.com on Monday (May 6) at 10:30 a.m.
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