MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team spotted Johnson & Wales two first-half goals before cutting the gap to one late in the third quarter but could not convert any of its three fourth-quarter penalty corners in a 2-1 loss Thursday afternoon in the season-opener for both teams at Rick McCarthy Field.
In a battle of two programs coming off their first NCAA tournament bids, Johnson & Wales got an early goal from sophomore Darian Shepherd less than four minutes into play, and a pad goal from graduate student Jillian Miele midway through the second quarter to defeat Eastern in the season-opener for both teams for the second straight year. Last year, the Wildcats defeated the Warriors for the first time in four games in the series, with Miele scoring twice.
Senior goalie Madison Flaxington outdueled Eastern senior
Sarah Gallagher (South Windsor) for the second straight year, with Flaxington stopping eight shots and Gallagher five (only one in the second half) this time around.
After scoring her first career goal in last year's loss to the Wildcats, Eastern sophomore midfielder
Liz LaMarco (West Hartford) scored the seventh of her career Thursday, collecting the rebound of a shot by junior midfielder
Leah Kowalasky (Middlebury) after inserting her own penalty corner, and sweeping a shot from the left of the cage past Flaxington to slide the Wildcat lead in half with just 72 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Warriors did not allow a penalty corner and just one shot in the fourth quarter, but could not capitalize on any of their three penalty corners or three shots. A minute into the fourth quarter, sophomore forward
Michaela Ellis (Mystic) centered a pass in front to first-year forward
Emma Sanson (Thomaston). Eastern was awarded a penalty corner when Sanson was interfered with, but Flaxington kicked out LaMarco's bid from the top of the circle off the corner.
Flaxington made another save on junior forward
Kaylee Drobish's (Wallingford) three minutes later and the Warriors could not gain the equalizer despite being awarded two penalty corners in the final six minutes. The Wildcats' defense did not allow a shot off the first corner – with sophomore defender Madison Young clearing the zone on the first corner that was inserted by first-year forward
Angelina Felleni (Byram, NJ) and graduate student
Bryce Makula's (Guilford) blast off of LaMarco's corner drilled the outside of the cage with just over two minutes left.
Miele also had an assist on the opening goal before scoring the second one, with senior forward Margaret Johnson, who scored the second goal in her team's win over Eastern a year ago, picked up a helper on Miele's goal that made it 2-0 midway through the second quarter.
The Warriors nearly doubled the Wildcats' penalty corner total (11-6) and also held a slim 12-11 edge in shots.
Eastern hosts Regis College Saturday at noon. Eastern has won all three games in the series by identical 2-1 scores.
