MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior midfielder
Carly Alston (Franklin, MA) and junior defender
Madison Palmer (Storrs) both scored their first career goals and 16 field players saw at least 20 minutes of time as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team opened its home season with a 4-0 non-conference victory over Fitchburg State University Wednesday evening at Rick McCarthy Field.
Now 10-0 all-time with eight shutouts in the series which dates back to 2009 with Fitchburg (1-2-0), Eastern (1-1-0) allowed only one corner kick and no shots, collecting 29 shots and 13 corners of its own. Fitchburg freshman keeper Madison Dawkins faced 12 shots on net, making eight saves.
Senior forward
Ashlyn Rogers (Portsmouth, RI) and Alston scored seven minutes apart to give Eastern a quick 2-0 lead after 14 minutes but Dawkins kept the Warriors off the board for the next 53 minutes before senior midfielder
Grace Muller (Johnston, RI) made it 3-0 midway though the second half with her third career goal, and Palmer closed out the scoring with 43.9 second left with a shot from the middle of the field through traffic that deflected off a Fitchburg defender and inside the right post off a corner kick by first-year midfielder
Lauren Weaver (Columbia) – her first career assist.
A hand ball in the box seven minutes into play set up a penalty kick by Rogers, who sent it cleanly inside the left post for her seventh career goal. Alston scored from in close in the 14
th minute off an assist from Rogers, and Muller headed in a corner kick from the right side by junior
Hailey Cocca (Stratford) – beating Dawkins inside the left post. On Alston's goal, Cocca blasted a corner kick into the box. Dawkins got a hand on it in a crowd, Alston got her right foot on it off the deflection near the right post. Rogers then sent a shot back toward the goal, that bounced off Alston and past Dawkins.
Playing the first half, first-year goalie
Kaeden Dublin (Maple Grove, MN) touched the ball only a handful of times in recording her first career win. Senior veteran
Emily Wallace (Smithtown, NY) took up space in net in the second half.
Eastern visits Russell Sage College Sunday at 5 p.m. in the first meeting between the programs.
