Box Score
MANSFIELD, Conn. – The significance of Eastern Connecticut State University's 19-2 rout of Rhode Island College Tuesday evening at Rick McCarthy Field in Little East Conference women's lacrosse is not that the Warriors maintained their mastery over the Anchorwomen in the 24-game series history, but, rather, that they kept pace as one of only two unbeatens in the conference heading into the final three matches of the regular season.
 
Off to its first 4-0 start in conference play since 2017, Eastern (7-6, 4-0 LEC) scored the first ten goals and shut out Rhode Island (2-10, 0-4 LEC) over the first 39 minutes that helped it match Western Connecticut State University as one of the conference's two teams with perfect records.
 
Now 7-1 against New England competition and a winner of four of its last six since a three-game losing streak, Eastern got points from ten different players, outshot RIC, 53-7, and scored three man-up and one man-down goal in improving its all-time record against the Anchorwomen to 23-1.
 
In 2017, the Warriors finished unbeaten in the conference regular season for the fifth time and advanced to the LEC playoff title game, losing, 13-12, at home to Plymouth State University.
 
Senior midfielder Kaylee Drobish (Wallingford) came off the bench for five goals and an assist, while sophomore attack Alexa Vizzini (Vernon, NJ), a first-team All-LEC player last year in her first season, had four goals and three assists, reaching 100 career points in only her 28^th career game. Vizzini scored three straight goals in the fourth quarter, with her fourth of the game with eight minutes left giving her at least 40 goals for the second straight year and marking the fourth straight season that an Eastern player has reached that number.
 
Senior attack Jessie Pyrek-Bennett (Monroe) added three goals and an assist, and senior attack Kate Barner (Southington) added a goal and three assists (off the bench), all in the second half.
 
Defensively, Eastern forced 18 failed clears and 36 turnovers. First-year defender Grace Saldaña (Colchester) helped the Warriors by collecting five of the their 11 caused turnovers, with Vizzini also causing three. Drobish and Saldaña each won three draws to give Eastern a slim +1 advantage in that category.
 
Eastern hosts the University of Southern Maine (5-6, 1-3 LEC) Friday at 5 p.m. before facing the two other top teams in the conference standings in Western Connecticut State University (9-5, 4-0 LEC) April 24 and Keene State College (8-4, 3-1 LEC) in the regular-season finale April 27. Against Eastern, Southern Maine has won the last five, WestConn the last four, and Keene the last seven.