WORCESTER, Mass. – There were two routes that the Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team had available on the final weekend of the regular season in order to qualify for the Little East Conference playoffs for the first time in nine years.

The first option was to get some help Friday night. If that failed, the second was to help themselves Saturday afternoon.

Neither materialized.

On Friday night, visiting Western Connecticut State University battled Westfield State University into overtime, but was unable to eliminate the Owls from the LEC race in a 3-2 loss.

Needing to post their first victory over Worcester State in five years Saturday afternoon to return them to the LEC playoffs, the Warriors came up empty, as the host Lancers grabbed the eighth and final playoff spot with a 2-0 win at Coughlin Field.

Eastern, Worcester State and Westfield State all shared seventh place in the final standings, but the Warriors were the odd men out after losing to both of those opponents in the regular season (the loss at Westfield came in a shootout). Westfield's 4-3 regular-season victory over Worcester gives the Owls the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, with Worcester the No. 8 and final seed.

Worcester (11-7, 4-7 LEC) sophomore Julie O'Rourke registered a goal and an assist to help propel Worcester past Eastern, which  wraps up the season at 8-10, 4-7 in the conference. The victory total is the second-highest in program history, best since 2001. The conference win total also equals the program's highest since 2004.

After capturing three of their first four LEC contests, the Warriors  went 1-6 the rest of the way, however.

Sophomore Erika Lepkowski dished out a pass from the top of the circle to just inside the left side where O'Rourke smoked a shot through defenders and into the back of the cage at the 51:25 mark for the 1-0 edge.

Freshman Katelyn Carmody provided the Lancers with a two-goal margin when she redirected an O'Rourke blast off a penalty corner past the ECSU net minder at the 57:37 mark.

Eastern had its chances to get on the board in the final ten minutes, however, but was unable to capitalize off two crucial penalty corners.

Sophomore Hannah Keiser (Danbury) fired a missile off a penalty corner at the 61:56 mark, but was shut down by sophomore Megan Ripke who stopped the ball in its tracks for the defensive save to preserve the lead.

Just 90 ticks later, sophomore Laura Chicorka (Enfield) was turned aside by WSU senior net-minder Allison Romano on her attempt off a penalty corner keeping the Lancers up by two.

Romano again thwarted a Warrior attack in the waning moments when she stopped a Keiser offering with 2:28 left to secure the victory. The senior stopped all three shots she faced to earn her sixth shutout of the season.

Eastern freshman keeper Samantha Scavo (Redding) registered six saves.