Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior back Maggie Bodington (Stratford) curled in a corner kick late in the first half for her first goal of the season, and junior midfielder Aly Clarke's (Mystic) team-leading sixth goal through the second half sealed the 20th consecutive Little East Conference regular-season women's soccer victory for Eastern Connecticut State University in its 2-0 triumph over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Thomas Nevers Field.
With the victory, Eastern (4-3-2, 2-0-0 LEC) keeps pace atop the Little East with defending LEC playoff champion Western Connecticut, which shut out visiting Keene State College, 2-0, Saturday. UMass Dartmouth (2-5-1, 1-1-0 LEC) drops into a four-way tie for third place after losing for the seventh straight time to Eastern and extending its winless streak against the Warriors to 22 (0-21-1).
Bodington, a sophomore All-America, bent a corner kick from the left side inside the first post to give Eastern a 1-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. Although Eastern largely had the better of play, the game remained that way until Clarke – last week's LEC Offensive Player-of-the-Week -- pulled even in the LEC goal race with Western's Autumn Sorice with her sixth goal of the year. The scoring surge originated in the back, when senior wing Michele D'Agata (West Suffield) and sophomore middle Abbey Fitzsimmons (West Hartford) played the ball down the left side to Clarke. Clarke carried toward the end line before floating the ball from a difficult angle over the head of UMass freshman keeper Jaimee O'Brien (West Springfield, MA) and inside the first right post.
The assist was the first of the year for D'Agata and first in the career of Fitzsimmons.
Fitzsimmons had nearly given Eastern its 2-0 lead 11 minutes into the second half when she carried on the left side and cut into the box. O'Brien came off her line, however, to haul in her sharp shot at the near post. Eleven minutes later, O'Brien weathered a yellow card when she separated an Eastern player from the ball on a breakaway with a hard tackle.
At left: When UMass Dartmouth's free kick got behind keeeper Kayla Labrecque in the second half, senior back Krista Petersen (13) was there to clear it off the line and preserve the lead and shutout.
With Eastern holding to its slim lead, Eastern senior center back Krista Petersen (Wallingford) preserved the lead and junior Kayla Labrecque's (Westhampton, MA) seventh career full shutout when she cleared the ball off the back line following a UMass free kick from the middle of the field, 25 yards out.
Eastern outshot UMD, 11-4, with Labrecque being credited with one save and her first full shutout of the year as the Warriors recorded a shutout for the 12th time in the keeper's 24 career starts. In her fourth career start, O'Brien stopped three shots.
Eastern lost two key players to injury in the game, one in the first half and one in the second. Neither returned to the game after being helped off.
Eastern hosts Wesleyan University Tuesday in a non-conference match at the Mansfield Outdoor Complext at 6 p.m.
