PLYMOUTH, N.H. – In the lowest-scoring match in the 35-game history of the series, the Eastern Connecticut State University men's lacrosse team held Plymouth State University without a goal for the first 12 minutes and for 26 minutes later in the match in a 7-2 victory in the Little East Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon in the first match played on PSU's new turf facility, Panther Field.
 
 Graduate goalie Jack Farrell (Stratford) made 11 saves for Eastern (3-1) to outduel Plymouth senior goalie Robert Porter for the second time, but Porter turned back 17 shots to keep the hosts in contention.
 
Eastern's final goal total was the lowest by the winning team in the history of the series, as was the combined goal total. Eastern last limited its opponent to as few as two goals on April 16, 2019, when Farrell and current senior John Funk (Southbury) combined for 13 saves in a non-conference home win over Anna Maria College. Farrell stopped six shots in the first half of that game, Funk seven in the second half.
 
Senior Tyler Stein (Milford) scored twice in a span of a little over two minutes to break a scoreless tie Saturday, and after Plymouth broke through for its only goal of the first half, the Warriors ran off five straight, the first off the stick of sophomore Shane Haggerty (Stamford) on an assist from Stein with eight seconds left in the first quarter after junior Christion Swan (Guilford) won a ground ball following a Plymouth turnover.
 
Eastern's man-down defense saved the day for the Warriors, killing off nine penalties and negating Plymouth's 11 extra-man opportunities. Sophomore Mitchell Bagcal (South Windsor)  recorded Eastern's only extra-man goal, his first goal of the year coming two minutes into the second quarter giving Eastern a 4-1 lead.
 
Freshman Camden Brown (Southington) matched Stein with two goals to pull him into the team lead with Stein and Haggerty with eight goals each. Farrell had five ground balls, sophomore Domenic Scarano (Berlin) and Stein picking up four each. Stein was 6-of-8 from the faceoff spot and freshman David Harrold (Southington) won three of five. Sophomore Sean Anderson (Fairfield) and freshman Andrew Pendagast (Southbury) were both credited with their first career assists.
 
Eastern visits Trinity College in a non-conference match Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.