SALEM, Mass. – For the Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team, the difference betweeThe difference between qualifying for the Little East Conference playoffs  and watching from theslidline has usually come down to one match in its 11-match conference season.

A case in point was Saturday's 1-0 conference loss to Salem State University, which kept Eastern (3-9, 1-6 LEC  in 11^th place in the 12-team conference. 

With a win over Salem (8-3, 4-3 LEC), the Warriors would have grabbed apiece of seventh place with four other teams. The top eight finishers in the regular season qualify for the LEC playoffs, which get underway with first-round matches Oct. 30.

Saturday, Lauren Pazdziorny scored her team-leading sixth goal of the year early in the second half, and Salem State withstood a late flurry by the Warriors to trim Eastern by one goal for the fifth time in its last seven victories over Eastern.

The Vikings snapped a two-game losing skid with the win, while Eastern failed to score for the fourth straight match.

The teams played to a draw after thirty-minutes of action with neither team generating much on the offensive end. The Vikings did control play in their zone for most of the period, but thanks to the Warriors' defense, they were unable to take advantage of any scoring chances.

The second half began with Salem State again controlling the tempo, and this time Pazdziorny took advantage of a small opening and rifled a shot in from three yards out at the 46:13 mark to put the Vikings up 1-0. The home team made the score stand-up until the final minute when Eastern's  Jessica Oliveira (Danbury) almost tied the score off a corner, but thanks to the efforts of Salem goalie Michaela Boye,  she was turned away twice from point-blank range.

Eastern sophomore scoring leader Deisy Naranjo (Washington Heights, NY) returned to the lineup after sitting out three matches with an ankle sprain but was not credited with a shot.Sophomore Olivia Mullen (Bethel) made two saves for the Warriors, lowering her goals-against average to 2.42. Six of Mullen's eight losses have come by shutout.

Eastern hosts Lasell College Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.