MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior Brianna Nolan (Watertown) scored twice in a span of six minutes in the second half and added an assist on the final goal with under two minutes left as the Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team won a record fifth straight regular-season decision, 3-0, over Castleton University in a Little East Conference match Saturday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field.

    The program's first victory over Castleton (3-6, 1-2 LEC) in five meetings all-time in the series gives Eastern (5-1, 3-0 LEC) its first 3-0 start in 24 years of LEC competition. Castleton had shut out Eastern when the teams last meet at McCarthy Field, 5-0, and had eliminated the Warriors from the 2018 LEC playoffs with a 7-0 triumph at Castleton, VT.

Eastern is one of three teams in the LEC without a loss, with Worcester State and Westfield State both at 1-0.

    Nolan, who took all 14 of the team's penalty corners, recorded her fourth multi-goal game in her last 13 contests and tied her career-high with five points. Although the Warriors spent the majority of the game in their offensive circle and dominated in penalty corners, they could not break through until just three minutes remained in the third quarter when Nolan re-directed a shot from the left post past Castleton sophomore goalie Hannah Frittenburg (Intervale, NH). First-year player Liz LaMarco (West Hartford) was credited with her first career assist on the play.

    Nolan's team-leading sixth goal of the season on a pass from senior Bryce Makula (Guilford) from the left side made it 2-0 three minutes into the fourth quarter, and Nolan's first assist of the season set up sophomore Kaylee Drobish's (Wallingford) first career goal through Frittenburg's five-hole with under two minutes left.

    After a scoreless first half, Eastern had three penalty corners in the first four minutes of the third quarter but could not penetrate the Castleton defense, and Frittenburg kept the game scoreless midway through the third 15-minute period with a save on LaMarco's shot from the middle of the circle. Nolan's best chance to that point came minutes later when she shot wide when the ball was re-directed out to her on a hit into the circle. Just prior to Nolan's go-ahead goal, Frittenburg made a pad save on Makula's shot from the top of the circle, and LaMarco's  rebound shot carried wide.

    Three times previously, Eastern had opened with two straight LEC wins. Last spring, the Warriors won both conference contests in the only two they played in the abbreviated season. In 2001 and 2002, the Warriors lost their third LEC contest, both times to the University of Southern Maine.

    Eastern visits UMass Dartmouth Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a conference match, having won three of the last four against the Corsairs after losing ten straight in the series.