PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior
Morgan Cunningham (Wrentham, Mass.) matched a career high with five goals, all coming in the first half, as Plymouth State University cruised to a 15-7 win over Bridgewater State University in non-conference women's lacrosse action at Panther Field on Tuesday afternoon.
PSU scored three times in just over four minutes to take an early lead. The Bears would get to within 4-2 midway through the first quarter, but Plymouth State used a 5-1 spurt to close the frame with a 9-3 advantage, with Cunningham securing a hat trick in the opening 15 minutes alone.
Cunningham scored twice more in the second quarter as the Panthers took an 11-4 lead at halftime. PSU pushed its advantage to double digits,15-5, late in the third quarter before Bridgewater State added a pair of fourth-quarter tallies to account for the final score.
Plymouth State improves to 3-5, while the Bears fall to 3-7.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 15, Bridgewater State 7
- Plymouth State (3-5)
- Bridgewater State (3-7)
How it Happened:
- Junior Sammy Murphy (Harrisville, R.I.), Cunningham and freshman Karina Bosco (North Dighton, Mass.) each scored in the opening four-plus minutes as the Panthers grabbed an early lead.
- Bridgewater State attempted to rally, sandwiching a pair of goals around a beautiful finish by freshman Evelyn Goudreau (Topsham, Maine) to make it 4-2 midway through the first.
- Sophomore Gracie Menicci (Pepperell, Mass.), Cunningham and sophomore Caroline Purcell (Lake Placid, N.Y.) answered in quick succession before a BSU tally made it 7-3.
- Cunningham and Bosco each scored late in the frame to push the lead to 9-3 after one.
- Cunningham scored twice in the opening five minutes of the second quarter as the Panthers coasted into halftime with an 11-4 advantage.
- Freshman Olivia Thibert (Dighton, Mass.) and Bosco pushed the lead to 13-4 early in the third quarter.
- After Bridgewater State scored with 5:13 left in the frame, Goudreau buried back-to-back goals to push the lead to 15-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
- The Bears provided the only scoring in the final stanza to account for the 15-7 score.
By the Numbers:
- Cunningham scored five times for the second time in her career. Her previous five-goal game came last March in a 22-5 win over Fitchburg State on just five shots.
- Bosco tallied her first career hat trick, while Goudreau also finished with three goals.
- Sophomore Claire Joyce (Braintree, Mass.) had a pair of assists.
- Junior Grace Campo (Chelmsford, Mass.) led the defense with three caused turnovers and four ground balls. Freshman Paige Carrow (Mansfield, Mass.) contributed three draw controls, four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
- Freshman Caitlin Snow (Peabody, Mass.) made 10 saves in the win.
- Plymouth State held a 20-15 advantage in shots on goal and edged the Bears in ground balls (21-20) and draw controls (12-11).
- The Panthers have won 10 of the last 11 meetings dating back to 2014.
Up Next:
- The Panthers host WestConn in a rematch of last year's LEC Tournament Championship game on Saturday (Apr. 4) at 11 a.m.
– 30 –
