FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team unleashed a record 16-shot barrage in the third quarter when it scored the only goal it would need and moved another step closer to a first-round home contest in the Little East Conference playoffs with a 2-0 victory over Framingham State University Wednesday night at Maple Street Field.
Ranked eighth in the 13-team field in the LEC pre-season poll, Eastern (10-5, 8-3 LEC) moved into sole possession of fourth place in the standings with one game remaining, a half-game ahead of Worcester State University. The Lancers, the 2019 LEC playoff champions, had their scheduled LEC match at Bridgewater State University postponed until Thursday.
The top four teams in the final standings host first-round LEC matches Tuesday.
By defeating Framingham (4-11, 1-10 LEC) for the ninth straight time (eighth by shutout), Eastern equals its season record for LEC regular-season wins, set in 2015 when it hosted (and won) its only LEC playoff home games and advanced to the LEC playoff finals for the only time, finishing with a program record 13 wins overall.
Eastern's defense of starters
Aly Kendrick (North Branford),
Grace Mangiameli (Suffield) and
Leah Kowalasky (Middlebury) limited Framingham to only one first-half shot but managed only three of its own before unloading 16 shots and scoring the only goal it needed with 2:20 left in the third quarter on sophomore
Kaylee Drobish's (Wallingford) third goal of the year (second in three games) off first-year player
Liz LaMarco's (West Hartford) team-leading sixth assist of the season.
First-player
Brooke Mercier (Washington) broke through for her first career goal with 1:11 left in the match to provide insurance.
Drobish and senior
Brianna Nolan (Watertown) – the team leader with 12 goals – combined to put all nine of their shots on goal, but Framingham goalie Grace Pushor stopped eight of them and completed her night with 14 saves to keep the Rams within striking distance throughout.
Junior goalie
Sarah Gallagher (South Windsor) needed only two saves to secure her fourth shutout of the season.
Eastern finished with a 22-2 advantage in shots and 14-2 margin in penalty corners. In conference play, Eastern has nearly doubled its opponents' goal total and has averaged 16 shots and nearly ten penalty corners. In ten LEC appearances (nine starts), Gallagher has a 1.52 goals-against average and .812 save percentage, with three shutouts.
With ten wins overall, Eastern reached double-figure wins for only the third time in program history following 11 wins in 2001 and 13 in 2015.
Eastern closes the regular season Saturday when it hosts Salem State University at noon at Rick McCarthy Field. The Vikings (8-7, 6-5 LEC) moved toward a playoff berth Wednesday by upsetting Westfield State University, 4-3 in overtime, at Salem, MA. The Owls entered play with a share of first place in the conference. Salem shares sixth place.
The Warriors bring a five-game winning streak into Saturday's game against Salem (outscoring the Vikings 19-3 in those games), the last three coming by shutout.
