MANSFIELD, Conn. –

As the field hockey season begins to draw to a close, the Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team (7-3, 5-1 LEC) geared up to face Bridgewater State University (4-8, 2-5 LEC) on Tuesday. Coming into the day, the Warriors were second in the conference trailing only to Keene State College who held a 5-1 record in Little East Conference play. However, Eastern beat the Owls earlier this year at home which means they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker should the two teams finish the season with identical conference records.
 
  With that win against Keene, the Warriors contro their own destiny in the fight for the Little East Conference regular season title down the stretch. All they have to do is win their final seven games which are all against Little East Conference opponents, starting with Bridgewater State University. Eastern kicked off the home stretch on the right foot behind two goals from sophomore forward Isabel Sanchez (Weston) and a goal by first-year forward Liz LaMarco (West Hartford) en route to a 3-1 win for the Warriors at Rick McCarthy Field.
 
 Eastern wasted no time placing the pressure on the visiting Bears from Bridgewater with two early penalty corners taken by graduate student Brianna Nolan (Watertown) leading to a shot attempt by first-year defender Aly Kendrick (North Branford) that was turned away by first-year goalie Emily Ronan. Only eight minutes into the game, Sanchez would record her first goal of the contest when Nolan rushed down the field and found LaMarco with the pass who located the wide-open sophomore waiting on the left side of the goal to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
 
 While held scoreless in the second, Eastern continued to apply pressure and keep Bridgewater State on their heels. The Warriors outshot the Bears 7-2 (4-2 in shots on goal) and were awarded 9 penalty corners in the second frame but could not cash in on their opportunities and eventually it would be Bridgewater State who found the back of the goal. After the Bears were awarded a penalty corner which led to a save by junior goalie Erin Fainer (Thomaston) who started the game for Eastern, the Bears would have another crack at Fainer with a second penalty corner shortly after. The initial swat in by junior forward Bailey Turner did not have enough steam on it to reach the outside of the circle, but soon after senior defender Aidan Ryan would fire the ball from the top of it. Ryan's shot would be deflected by sophomore forward Hannah Rolfe over to sophomore forward Zoe Bergeron who knocked the ball by Fainer, tying the score at one midway through the second quarter.
 
    Despite the tie score at the half, Eastern dominated on the stat sheet, outshooting Bridgewater State 12-2 (7-2 in shots on goal) and taking 10 more penalty corners than the Bears through 30 minutes of play. The Warriors wasted no time in the second half retaking the lead when LaMarco took the ball to start the third quarter and ran clear down field into the circle. The first-year forward would find a wide-open Sanchez again on the left side of the field and she would put the Warriors ahead 2-1 just 13 seconds into the second half.
 
    Starting the second half in goal for Eastern was junior goalie Sarah Gallagher (South Windsor) who was tested early on in the third quarter following the Warrior goal by the Bears. In a matter of 17 seconds, Gallagher made three saves against senior forward Victoria Camara, Hannah Rolfe, and Zoe Bergeron to preserve the one goal lead for Eastern. Those would be the only three shots that Gallagher faced in the second half as the Warrior defense led by junior Grace Mangiameli (Suffield), Aly Kendrick, and sophomore Leah Kowalasky (Middlebury) successfully kept Bridgewater State out of the offensive zone for a majority of the final 30 minutes.
 
    Liz LaMarco would tack on an insurance goal for Eastern with 12 minutes remaining in regulation to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead which would be the eventual final score. LaMarco had a hand in every goal on the afternoon, recording one goal and two assists in the win.
 
    Sarah Gallagher and Erin Fainer each played 30 minutes, recording a combined four saves against the Bridgewater State offense on five attempts. Gallagher earned the win which was her 6^th of the season.
 
    At the moment, Eastern still controls their own destiny to earn home games through at least the first two rounds of the conference championship with six games remaining. The Warriors will finish off their pair of home games on Friday, October 15^th at 4:00 PM against Westfield State University at Rick McCarthy Field. Westfield State is currently 4-2 in Little East Conference play which makes this matchup pivotal in the race for the top seeds in the conference standings. A win by the Warriors would put two games between them and Westfield State along with holding the head-to-head tiebreaker while a loss would drop them into a tie in the standings with their opponent who would then have the head-to-head tiebreaker.