Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team scored three goals in 23 minutes against a Plymouth State University defense which had surrendered just one goal in its first 685 minutes as the Warriors won their 13th straight Little East Conference regular-season match, 3-1, Saturday afternoon at Arold Field.
Plymouth (5-1-2, 1-1-0 LEC), which had outscored its opponent 20-1 in going unbeaten in its first seven matches, got off quickly when senior defender Leah Swanson scored her fourth goal of the year just 2:22 into action by heading in a corner kick, but Eastern (6-2-0, 2-0-0 LEC) responded later in the period with all three of its goals in a span of 23 minutes against first-team All-LEC senior keeper Annaliese Schmidt.
The Warriors, ranked seventh in New England, put 14 of their 21 shots on net in the match in defeating Plymouth for the 18th time in the last 19 contests between the programs.
Senior midfielder Hailey Lehning (Woodbury) tied the game in the 16th minute, junior defender Krista Petersen (Wallingford) scored what proved to be the game-winner 13 minutes later, and sophomore forward Kaley Pratt (Milford, MA) made it a two-goal difference six minutes before halftime. The goals were the second of the year for Lehning and Pratt and first for Petersen.
Lehning and Pratt both beat Schmidt from inside the 18, with Petersen heading in junior All-America Maggie Bodington's (Stratford) corner kick. The assist was the second this year for Bodington, who topped the LEC with ten a year ago.
After Swanson pushed Plymouth into the early lead, Eastern accumulated five shots on net – all of them on net – and collected two corners in the ensuing 13 minutes before Lehning struck for the equalizer.
Eastern, which won all seven of its LEC regular-season games last year, has captured 13 straight LEC regular-season games since last losing on Oct. 4, 2014.
Sophomore keeper Kayla Labrecque (Westhampton, MA) received plenty of defensive support in dropping her goals-against average to 1.45 and improving her save percentage to .654. She was called upon for only one save in shutting out the Panthers over the final 87:38 and the Eastern defense limited the hosts to only two corner kicks.
Eastern visits Wesleyan University in a non-conference match Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
