Box Score KEENE, N.H. -- Junior keeper Kayla Labrecque (Westhampton, MA) equaled her season high with 11 saves and lowered her goals-against average to 0.40 in five Little East Conference games as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team remained undefeated in the conference with a 1-0 victory over Keene State College Saturday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.
With two LEC regular-season matches remaining, Eastern (6-6-3, 4-0-1 LEC) and Western Connecticut (4-0-1 LEC) remain undefeated and atop the Little East with 13 points, Western keeping pace with a 3-2 road win over Rhode Island College. UMass Boston (3-1-1) remained three points behind the leader with ten points following its 4-0 victory over visiting UMass Dartmouth.
The win guarantees Eastern either a first-round playoff bye or a first-round home match. The top six finishers qualify for the playoffs, with the top two earning first-round byes into the semifinals. First-round games are scheduled for Oct. 31.
The win is the fourth straight in the regular season for Eastern over Keene (8-6-0, 3-2-0 LEC) and extends its unbeaten streak in LEC regular-season play to 23 (21-0-2) over four seasons.
Senior defender Krista Petersen (Wallingford) scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute and Labrecque and Eastern withstood 12 Keene shots in the second half to end a three-match winless (0-2-1) streak. Petersen's first goal of the year was set up on a corner kick by senior forward Maggie Bodington (Stratford), who had missed this past week's midweek non-conference match with an injury. Bodington shares the team lead with three assists.
Despite playing only four substitutes due to numerous injuries, Eastern handed Keene its fifth loss in its last eight contests.
Labrecque, who was called upon to make six saves in the second half to record her second full shutout in five LEC starts, made three saves in the first five minutes of the second half off the feet of Keene top scorers Katie Silegy and Taylor Farland, who have a combined 11 goals. In the conference, Labrecque is 4-0-1 with a 0.40 GA and .923 save percentage this season.
Each team had 20 shots, with Bodington (7) and junior midfielder Aly Clarke (Mystic) combining for 12 shots. Keene freshman goalie Shelby Offord stopped six shots.
In search of its third straight unbeaten LEC regular-season, Eastern hosts UMass Boston Friday at 7 p.m. and closes out the regular season Oct. 28 by hosting the University of Southern Maine.
