MANSFIELD, Conn. – Sophomore defender Aly Kendrick's (North Branford) second goal of the year inside the final seven minutes could not carry the Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team back from a two-goal deficit as the Warriors dropped a 2-1 Little East Conference decision to Worcester State University Saturday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field.
 
Now 2-6 at home, Eastern (6-9, 3-7 LEC) falls a game behind idle Framingham State University (4-6) in the race for the eighth and final spot in the upcoming LEC playoffs, which get underway with first-round games Nov. 1. The Warriors host Framingham Tuesday at 4 p.m. and close out the LEC regular season next Saturday at Salem State University. Salem (2-8 LEC) is in tenth place after losing its fourth straight game at Western Connecticut Saturday, 2-1 in overtime.
 
Sophomore Natalya Morin gave Worcester (11-6, 8-2 LEC) a 1-0 lead 4:32 into the second quarter and senior Karalyn Jones made it 2-0 three minutes into the third quarter on a penalty stroke before Kendrick cut the Lancer lead in half when she scored following an Eastern penalty corner with 6:29 left. A minute after Kendrick's goal, sophomore goalie Madison Ferrara made a save off of a drive from Eastern first-year forward Emma Sanson (Thomaston) that sealed the win for Worcester.
 
First-year forward Angelina Falleni's  (Byram, NJ) insertion on a penalty corner set up Kendrick's goal. Sanson swept Falleni's hit-in to the top of the circle to junior Leah Kowalasky (Middlebury), who found Kendrick in the circle for the goal.
 
Senior goalie Sarah Gallagher (South Windsor) kept Eastern within striking range throughout, finishing with seven saves and allowing only one goal over the course of play.
 
On Morin's first goal, Worcester won at midfield played and played it to the far right side of the field. The Lancers sent the ball into the circle, and Gallagher was able to stop Grace Adams' initial shot with a diving stop to her right, but Morin followed up at the left post and beat the goalie's dive for the first goal of the game.
 
On the penalty stroke awarded on an Eastern defensive violation, Gallagher guessed correctly with a dive to her right, but Jones's shot eluded her inside the left post as she netted her seventh goal of the season. Junior Zoe Athanasopoulos, Worcester's leading scorer with ten goals, was limited to two shots, both of which were saved by Gallagher.