Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. – For the Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team to be included in the conversation as a contender for a Little East Conference championship, the Warriors will need to defeat contending teams on the road.
At right: MaryKate Custer (Photo by Liam Murphy)
Saturday against nine-time LEC playoff finalist Plymouth State (6-2, 4-1 LEC), Eastern (6-4, 3-2 LEC) made in-roads to that end, cutting a three-goal deficit to one before dropping its 19th straight in the series to the Panthers, 5-2, at Arold Field.
Eastern began the day in a four-way tie for second place in the conference with Plymouth, Worcester State and Western Connecticut. With the victory, Plymouth takes over sole possession of second place, with Eastern among six teams in a logjam for third place.
The Warriors were coming off two straight shutout conference wins, but thoughts of a third straight shutout quickly dissolved when All-LEC players Kaitlyn Wilder and Nikki Garvey scored less than three minutes apart (Garvey's coming on a penalty stroke), and teammate Kristen Morris put the Warriors into a 3-0 hole five minutes before halftime.
Plymouth was coming off a 1-0 loss to defending playoff champion Keene State College in a re-match of last year's playoff final Tuesday that ended a four-game winning streak.
Last year at home, Eastern had stopped a streak of seven straight shutout losses to Plymouth, falling, 3-2, in only its second one-goal loss to the Panthers in the series.
Junior Laura Chicorka (Enfield) got Eastern on the board with her second goal of the year one second before halftime, and sophomore MaryKate Custer (South Windsor) made it 3-2 with her fourth goal of the season 14 minutes into the second half. Plymouth countered immediately, however, striking for two insurance goals within a span of four minutes, the first on Garvey's LEC-leading ninth goal of the year.
Sophomore Samantha Scavo (Redding), the LEC leader with four shutouts, turned back nine shots. Plymouth had advantages of 18-6 in shots and 7-1 in penalty corners.
Eastern shoots for its fifth straight home victory Wednesday when it hosts the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in a 4 p.m. Little East Conference start. Eastern has lost eight straight against the Corsairs, who share third place in the conference.
