MANSFIELD, Conn. -- Junior
Brianna Nolan (Watertown) contributed her second game-winning goal in six days as the Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team scored all of its goals in the second half to erase an early deficit and post a 4-1 Little East Conference victory over Plymouth State University Wednesday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field.
After scoring a sudden-death goal in a 3-2 win over Keene State College Friday, Nolan snapped a 1-1 tie with 17 minutes into the second half off an assist from junior
Sydney Collentine (New Fairfield) to give Eastern (2-0, 2-0 LEC) the lead for good. The goal was the first of three for Eastern in just over five minutes that extended the lead to three goals with seven minutes left.
Less than three minutes after her go-ahead goal, Nolan – announced today as the NFHCA Offensive Player-of-the-Week for last week -- added her fourth goal of the year to make it 3-1 with ten minutes left, when she stole the ball near the top of the circle and swept it past Plymouth freshman goalie Kayla Antonucci.
Freshmen
Isabel Sanchez (Weston) and
Leah Kowalasky (Middlebury) bookended the win with their first career goals on their only shots of the match, second of their careers.
Plymouth struck first behind sophomore Emma Revaz' goal less than ten minutes into play, and that lead stood up through the remainder of the first half. Sanchez tied the match six minutes into the second half when she took a crossing pass from junior
Bryce Makula (Guilford) that set up Nolan's go-ahead marker 12 minutes later.
Kowalasky sealed the team's second straight home victory over Plymouth (0-1, 0-1 LEC) with seven minutes left with her first career goal, Collentine collecting her second assist of the match, and Nolan also playing a role by sending in the penalty corner which eventually resulted in Kowalasky's goal.
Eastern doubled Plymouth's shot total with a 13-6 advantage, and Eastern's defense limited the Panthers to just one penalty corner through three quarters and four in the match.
In large part to Eastern's defense, Plymouth managed to put only two shots on Eastern sophomore goalie
Erin Fainer (Thomaston), who made one save to record her first win in her first collegiate appearance. Eastern's starting defense in front of Fainer consisted of sophomores
Grace Mangiameli (Suffield) and
Alyson Sanford (Waterford) and freshman
Arianna Ricciardi (Wallingford), with junior
Katelyn Miller (Wallingford) providing depth off the bench.
It marks the first time in 22 years of Little East play that Eastern has defeated Keene State and Plymouth State in the same season and is the first time in 18 years that the Warriors have won their first two LEC contests. Keene and Plymouth have combined for 17 of 22 LEC regular-season titles.
Eastern visits Plymouth in a non-conference match April 11 at 1 p.m.
