MANSFIELD, Conn. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth was eliminated in the overtime in the semifinal round of last year's Little East Conference field hockey playoffs after winning championships in 2009 and 2010.

Tuesday afternoon against Eastern Connecticut State University (3-7, 1-5 LEC), UMass Dartmouth (7-3, 6-0 LEC) continued its search for a third championship in four years when the Corsairs outshot the Warriors 31-2 and scored two goals in each half in a 4-0 triumph in a match played in a driving rain at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

With their seventh win over Eastern in as many years, the Corsairs maintained a share of first place in the LEC with Bridgewater State University, which shut out Framingham State University, 2-0, on the road Tuesday.

Now 1-4 at home this year, Eastern fell a couple of notches in the conference standings into 11thplace in the 12-team conference. The Warriors entered play tied for ninth with the University of Southern Maine and Western Connecticut, both of which won their LEC contests Tuesday.

Erica Allan, one of four returning all-conference players, scored both of UMass Dartmouth's first-half goals less than two minutes apart (her fifth and sixth of the season) on assists from freshman  Cory Connolly. Connolly made it 3-0 with her sixth goal of the season in the opening minutes of the second half to put the game away.

Eastern got terrific play from its defensive group throughout the match but the Warriors eventually tired while defending against the Corsairs' consistent attack which generated 31 shots and 15 penalty corners. Allan finally broke through with ten minutes left in the first half for the only goal the visitors would need.

Eastern sophomore goalie  Olivia Mullen (Bethel) stopped a career-high 13 shots, one more than the dozen she made in the season and home-opener against SaintJoseph's College of Maine.

The Warrors visit Connecticut College Thursday  at 4:30 p.m. in a non-conference match.