Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University) women's soccer team moved a step closer to its sixth Little East Conference regular-season title in the last 13 years by defeating the University of Southern Maine, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at Thomas Nevers Field.
The only unbeaten team in the conference with two regular-season matches remaining, Eastern (10-3-1, 5-0-0 LEC) has already beaten its two closest competitors by 1-0 scores on the road (Western Connecticut and Keene State College). The Warriors, winners of six of their last seven, look to clinch the regular-season title and gain the No. 1 playoff berth with remaining matches at Rhode Island College next Saturday and against visiting University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Oct. 31 at Nevers Field.
Four different players scored goals for Eastern Saturday, with junior midfielder
Joanna Weir (Hebron) scoring her first goal of the year and adding an assist, junior midfielder
Hailey Lehning (Woodbury) scoring her third goal of 2015 goal and contributing an assist, first-year sophomore transfer forward
Anna Manser (Manchester) recording her first goal in an Eastern uniform and All-New England sophomore forward
Emily Becher (Brooklyn) adding her conference-leading 11th goal.
Lehning and Weir scored 12 minutes apart early in the match and Becher made it 3-0 by halftime. Manser's 16-yard header on a cross from sophomore back
Maggie Bodington (Stratford) ended the scoring with 16 minutes into the second half.
Sophomore forward
Nikki Basilicato (Guilford) put Lehning in position to give Eastern a 1-0 lead just 2:48 into the match. Basilicato was credited with her first assist of the season when she won the ball just on Eastern's offensive half of midfield, took two touches, and slid a left-footed pass through two USM defenders to Lehning ahead of the field. Lehning carried in on USM senior keeper Marissa Temple, who left her line to try and kick away the shot, but Lehning maintained possession -- although Temple got a piece of the ball -- and tapped in a left-footer from the left side of the unguarded cage. Weir beat Temple on a 1 v 1 opportunity to make it 2-0, thanks to a left-footed pass from Lehning, who slotted the ball from the middle of the field through two defenders to Weir on the left flank. Weir took two touches, and when Temple went down, poked the ball inside the near left post.
All three keepers saw action for Eastern, as did 20 position players. Freshman
Kaley Kennedy (Enfield) played the final 21:52 without a save in her collegiate debut. Senior
Rachel Skelton (East Lyme) won her tenth decision of the season without making a save in the first half, and freshman
Kayla Labrecque (Westhampton, MA) recorded the only save by the trio in working first 23 minutes of the second half. The shutout is the seventh in 14 matches for Eastern.
Eastern outshot Southern Maine (3-10-0, 0-5-0 LEC) 30-2, with Labrecque recording the team's save with 25 minutes left.
Temple – second in the LEC in total saves – recorded her 100th save of the season, finishing with nine.
With her 29th career goal in 34 matches, Becher moved into a tie for seventh all-time.
Eastern hosts Fitchburg State University Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a non-conference match
