MANSFIELD, Conn. – Freshman midfielder Lena Kassel scored her 18^th goal of the season with 4.8 seconds left in the first half to propel the Fitchburg State University field hockey team to a 1-0 Little East Conference win over Eastern Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field.
 
Kassel, ranked second in the LEC in goals and tied for second nationally in goals per match, beat Eastern (4-7, 1-5 LEC)  senior goalie Sarah Gallagher (South Windsor) in the final seconds of the first half and the Warriors lost for the fifth time in seven home matches.  Eastern had a re-start in its end of the field with 20 seconds left but Kassel, a native of Stuttgart, Germany, stole the ball, outran two Eastern defenders down the middle of the field, controlling the ball in full stride over a long distance before unloading a hard shot from just inside the circle with three Eastern defenders in tow that Gallagher had no chance on.
 
Fitchburg (6-5, 4-2 LEC) outshot Eastern, 11-4 and junior goalie Jenna Morse needed only four saves as the Warriors were shut out for only the second time this year, first by a 1-0 score. Gallagher made six saves.
 
The win was only the second for Fitchburg in the last five meetings against Eastern, which had posted 2-0 shutouts each of the last two years.
 
Following the match, Eastern's five seniors were honored: Gallagher, Erin Fainer (Thomaston), Grace Mangiameli (Suffield), Bryce Makula (Guilford) and Katelyn Miller (Wallingford).
 
Eastern visits Bridgewater State University in a Little East Conference match Tuesday at 7 p.m.