MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior Emily Wallace's (Smithtown, NY) career-high 16 saves were enough to keep the Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team in the game, but not enough to prevent Western Connecticut State University from remaining unbeaten in the Little East Conference or from extending its long unbeaten streak against the Warriors.
 
Although WestConn (7-4-4, 4-0-1 LEC) dominated in shots (26-3) and corner kicks (11-1), it was only senior Myah Croze's conference-leading 12^th goal of the season that was the difference as the Wolves came away with a 1-0 win Wednesday night at Rick McCarthy Field.
 
Croze, a returning first-team All-LEC striker, was there to clean things up after Wallace made a magnificent stop of a shot by sophomore defender Kaylee Tackson with 11 minutes left in the game.  
 
Wallace had kept the match scoreless with nine saves in the first half and seven more in the second, turning away Croze's dangerous free kick with a leaping save five minutes after halftime. Fifteen minutes later, Wallace left her feet for a diving rejection of Adriana Alfano's (ten shots) header midway through the second half. Wallace also punched out a WestConn corner kick attempt two minutes after denying Alfano.  Alfano and Suzana Imetovski also hit the post on either side of Croze's go-ahead goal.
 
With three of its top offensive players on the shelf, Eastern had limited scoring chances, and mustered its only corner kick with five minutes left.
 
Croze has reached double figures in goal each non-Covid season at WestConn, including an LEC-leading 27 as a sophomore in 2021.
 
WestConn is now 7-1-2 in its last ten matches following an 0-3-2 start and has shut out its opponent in each of its seven victories this year.
 
The loss nonwithstanding, Wallace improved her save percentage to .926 – second-best in the conference. Her goals-against average of 0.57 ranks third and her 50 saves this year ranks fourth.
 
Eastern hosts Plymouth State University Saturday at 2 p.m. The Panthers are 3-7-2 overall, 1-5-0 in the conference, and are coming off Wednesday's 2-1 home conference loss to Keene State College.