Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team has struggled in recent years against Bridgewater State University, losing the previous seven times the teams had met. Saturday, hoping to take another step toward a first-ever Little East Conference playoff home game, the Warriors made it look relatively easy.
Eastern (9-6, 7-3 LEC) scored in the 14
th minute on Seniors' Day behind senior
Jenna Mango's (Bethel) first career goal and survived a late Bridgewater State (7-9, 4-6 LEC) goal to post a 2-1 victory at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex -- the team's record seventh home win (in nine games).
The Eastern win, coupled with Worcester State University's 2-1 loss at the University of Southern Maine Saturday, guarantees the Warriors of no worse than fourth place in the final standings and hosting a first-round LEC playoff game for the first time in the 19-year history of the championship. The top four seeds host the bottom four seeds in the first round of the LEC playoffs Nov. 3.
Appearing in only her fourth game of the year and making her first season of 2015, Mango re-directed senior
Hannah Keiser's (Danbury) drive from the middle of the circle at the left post, knocking it past Bridgewater junior goalie Kaylyn Allahyarian with less than 14 minutes gone. The assist was the 16
th career one for Keiser and gives her sole possession of second place.
The one-goal lead stood until senior
Laura Chicorka (Enfield) made it 2-0 six minutes into the second half when she took the ball off the stick of a BSU player re-starting at the top of the cirlce, deked Allahyarian when the goalie came out to cut down the angle, and swept the ball into the vacated goal.
Bridgewater, which was outshot, 22-5, cut the Eastern lead in half when senior forward Emily Mosca sent her own rebound of a save by Eastern junior goalie
Samantha Scavo (Redding) from close range into the back of the cage for her third goal of the season.
Eastern outshot Bridgewater 10-1 in the first half and finished with a 16-3 margin in penalty corners. Scavo stopped three shots and Allahyarian 11.
Eastern ends the LEC regular season Saturday at conference co-leader Plymouth State University at 11:30 a.m.
