Box Score Tournament Central
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team posted its fifth shutout in seven Little East Conference matches in completing its second straight undefeated regular season in the conference with a 5-0 victory over Rhode Island College Saturday afternoon at Thomas Nevers Field.
The win gives Eastern (12-3-2, 6-0-1 LEC) its second straight outright LEC regular-season title and No. 1 playoff seed and a first-round LEC playoff bye. The Warriors host a semifinal-round match Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex against the winner of Tuesday's first-round 4 p.m. match between visiting No. 5 seed Plymouth State University and No. 4 host Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Since the advent of the seven-game LEC regular season, Eastern becomes the first time to win consecutive LEC regular season titles in unbeaten fashion. Since losing 4-1 at Massachusetts Boston in October of 2014, the Warriors have gone unbeaten (17-0-1) in their last 18 LEC regular-season contests.
In shutting out its final four LEC opponents this year, Eastern broke from a 1-0 halftime lead against Rhode Island (6-10-2, 2-4-1 LEC) by scoring four times in less than 13 minutes in the second half.
At left: Seventeenth-year head coach Chris D'Ambrosio was presented with a commemorative ball on Seniors' Day, recognizing his 200th coaching win Oct. 15 against UMass Boston. D'Ambrosio brings an overall record of 203-98-30 into Thursday's Little East Conference semifinal playoff match at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex. (Photo by Dylan Scanlon)
Prior to Saturday night's LEC contest between Keene State College (5-1-0 LEC) and UMass Boston (1-4-1 LEC), Rhode Island held down the sixth and final LEC playoff spot, with seven points. A UMass Boston loss or tie with Keene would unofficially guarantee RIC sixth place. A UMass victory would leave the Beacons and Anchorwomen tied for sixth. The teams played to a 1-1 overtime tie during the season.
Eastern, which finishes the regular season unbeaten (4-0-2) at home, had countless chances off 14 first-half shots, but only All-New England Region junior Emily Becher (Brooklyn) was able to beat RIC junior keeper Brianna Sousa (Warwick, RI), that goal coming in the sixth minute.
Junior back Krista Petersen (Wallingford) finally gave the Warriors an insurance goal ten minutes into the second half when she leaped above a crowd to head in junior McKenzie Reimondo's (Portland) corner kick. That opened the floodgates, with senior midfielder Hailey Lehning (Woodbury), Becher (again), and senior back Jamie Belden (Middlebury) contributing goals in a span of six minutes to make it 5-0.
Lehning drove her fifth goal of the season inside the left post on a 1v1 opportunity with Sousa after carrying down the middle, and Becher followed with her second of the game and 11th of the season (second-most in the conference) off a feed from sophomore Aly Clarke (Mystic). Belden stayed perfect by cleanly converting her fourth career penalty kick into the upper-left part of the cage – her first goal of the year – after Becher was taken down by Sousa in the box in a bid for second hat trick of the season.
Trailing 4-0, Rhode Island had a couple of chances in succession, but Eastern sophomore keeper Kayla Labrecque (Westhampton, MA) came up with two of the three saves she collected over the first 67 minutes. Labrecque, who won her tenth match of the year as a first-year starter, dove to deny RIC junior Stephanie Ricci (Smithfield, RI) with a sprawling save, then got to her feet to tip senior Jaclyn Greenman's (Waterford) bid off the rebound over the end line.
Since allowing a goal with seven seconds left in the first half in a 2-0 loss at Trinity College Oct. 12, Labrecque has shut out her opponent over the last 337 minutes and 13 seconds through the team's four straight shutout wins.
