PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Concluding the regular season against the top two seeds in the upcoming Little East Conference women's lacrosse playoffs, Eastern Connecticut State University dropped a 19-4 decision to Plymouth State University Saturday afternoon at Panther Field.
For the third straight year, Eastern (5-10, 3-4 LEC) has landed as the No. 5 seed, requiring a first-round road game for the third straight season. The Warriors look to snap a four-game LEC playoff losing streak when it visits familiar playoff rival Keene State College Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Owl Athletic Complex. Fourth-seeded Keene routed Rhode Island College, 17-1, Saturday, and looks for its first three-game winning streak of the season Tuesday.
Plymouth (10-6, 6-1 LEC) is seeded second to unbeaten regular-season champion Western Connecticut and has drawn one of the two first-round byes. The Panthers lost, 19-9, at Western Connecticut last Saturday for their only LEC loss.
ABBY PARISI
30+ ground balls, 30 draws won
For Eastern to advance to the playoff semifinals for the first time since 2018, it must win on the road for the first time this year. The Warriors are 0-5 on their opponents' home field this season and 0-7 overall away from Rick McCarthy Field.
Senior attack
Shay Ventresca (Oakdale) and first-year midfielder
Alexa Vizzini (Vernon, NJ) lead the Warriors offensively, both having reached 50 points this year. Vizzini recorded her 50
th point by scoring her 43
rd goal of the year in the final seconds of Saturday's loss. Ventresca equalled her assist total of 31 from last year with an assist on senior attack
Jessie Pyrek-Bennett's (Monroe) second goal of the match in the final minute of the third quarter Saturday.
Sophomore
Emma Alford (West Hartford) has started all 15 matches in net this year, making 12 saves on 39 Plymouth shots Saturday.
In addition to Alford, Ventresca, Vizzini, Pyrek-Bennett, junior midfielder
Kaylee Drobish (Wallingford) and first-year attack
Sydney Goyette (Westfield, MA) have started all 15 matches, with sophomore midfielders
Emma Oliano (Wallingford) and
Abby Parisi (Fairfield) and junior defender
Christina diBenedetto (Stratford) having started all 14 of the matches in which they have appeared.
Parisi (33) and Oliano (30) have each accumulated at least 30 ground balls this year, Vizzini (34), Drobish (30) and Parisi (30) having won at least 30 draws. Oliano has caused a team-high 18 turnovers.
The year has been marred by crippling injuries to key players, including top active career scorer and senior midfielder
Caroline Stent (Weatogue), who has scored 128 goals and 169 points in 39 career games. Also sidelined this season have been senior attack
Chloe Miller (Avon) and junior attack
Kate Barner (Southington). Miller had 38 goals and 46 points a year ago and 97 points in 32 games after transferring from Central Michigan University.
The Warriors have finished 3-4 in the LEC for the third straight season, easily defeating the lower third of the conference and easily losing to the top four teams. Eastern outscored the bottom three teams, 70-15 this year and was outscored 75-27 by the top four tournament seeds.
Keene and Eastern are meeting for the ninth time in the LEC playoffs, Keene winning five times. The Owls have won five of the last six post-season encounters after Eastern eliminated the Owls in the semifinals in both 2002 and 2006. The teams are meeting for the third time in the first round after facing off four times in the semifinals (Eastern winning three of four) and twice in the finals (Keene winning both).
Three of the previous playoff meetings have been closely contested, Keene winning, 9-8 in overtime in the 2009 final and 7-6 in the 2012 semifinals and Eastern surviving, 17-15, in the 2018 semifinals.
Overall, Eastern holds a 19-15 edge in the all-time series, but Keene has beaten Eastern the last six times the teams have met, including 19-6 this past April 1 at Keene, NH in the conference opener for both squad when the Warriors committed 30 turnovers. The Owls ran away with the game in a 10-goal second quarter that gave them a 12-3 halftime lead. Hannah Dworking had five assists and two goals in that match for Keene and Mindy St. Marie four goals and two assists.
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