MANSFIELD, Conn. -- The Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team overcame a sluggish start to force ten turnovers and score eight unanswered goals in a 13-minute stretch late in the first half and went on to a 21-7 non-conference victory over Becker College Tuesday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field.
Leading 6-4 midway though the first half, Eastern (5-1) got goals from six different players in an unanswered run of eight consecutive goals over 13 minutes, forcing ten turnovers in that span to defeat the Hawks in their season-opener.
In those 13 minutes, senior
Tristan Kijak (Windsor) and sophomore
Caroline Stent (Weatogue) each scored twice, with other goals coming from junior
Cassie Bennett (Milford) and sophomores
Mackenzie Shrewsbury (Sprague), Shay Ventresca (Oakdale) and
Jessie Pyrek-Bennett (Monroe).
Also during that decisive 8-0 run, Kijak and freshman
Kaylee Drobish (Wallingford) each won three ground balls, Stent two and Shrewsbury won two draws and picked up a ground ball.
Eastern has now scored at least 20 goals in each of its five wins. After holding a +32 advantage in draws entering the game, Eastern lost the battle against Becker, which clung to a slim 15-14 advantage in that department.
Stent led Eastern with career-highs of seven goals and eight points, connecting on all but two of her shots and improving her team-leading totals to 27 goals and 32 points. Kijak and Bennett added four goals and senior
Sydney Hogan (Northford) led both teams wit three assists, moving her into a tie for 14
th place all-time, with 34. Shrewsbury caused four turnovers, and Kijak won six draws and was one of five Eastern players with three ground balls.
Sophomore
Sarah Gallagher (South Windsor) won her third game in four starts, stopping six shots.
Junior Kylian Kelly won six draws for Becker, with junior Clare Conway and junior Julia Ravenelle winning three each. Ravenelle and senior Arianna Calouro each scored twice. Ravenelle's first goal gave Becker its only lead (2-1) four minutes into play before the Warriors responded with two goals each from Bennett and sophomore
Chloe Miller (Avon) in less than five minutes as Eastern gained momentum and a 5-2 lead ten minutes into play.
Eastern opens Little East Conference play Saturday at 4 p.m., hosting Castleton University at Rick McCarthy Field.
