Box Score
KEENE, N.H. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team took another step toward contending for a Little East Conference championship, striking for four opening goals and leading for the first 34 minutes before dropping a 15-11 Little East Conference decision to Keene State College Wednesday evening at the Owl Athletic Conference.
 
As it did two weeks ago in Little East play, Eastern (9-3, 1-2 LEC) put a handful of recent blowout losses to Western Connecticut State University behind it by surging two a two-goal halftime lead in an eventual 14-9 loss.
 
Having lost by an average of nearly 11 goals in its last five visits to Keene, Eastern won the battle of shots (+11), ground balls (+2) and turnovers (eight less) Wednesday night in losing for only the second time in its last six overall contests this year.
 
Keene (9-3, 3-1 LEC) had lost last year's LEC title game as the No. 2 playoff seed to fourth-seeded Plymouth State University, 15-6, after dispatching the third-seeded Warriors, 16-8, at the Owl Athletic Complex. Coming off a 14-8 home loss Western Connecticut – which has gone unbeaten in winning the last four LEC regular-season titles – Keene won for the third time in the last four games and improved to 5-2 at home.
 
Wednesday,  senior Abby Parisi (Fairfield) scored twice and junior Alexa Vizzini (Vernon, NJ) and graduate player Avonlea LeBeau (North Branford) once each to stake Eastern to a 4-0 lead 11 minutes into play. As they did against Western, the Warriors led 8-6 at halftime on a goal by first-year player Hannah Seltzer (Westerly, RI) inside the final minute before Keene answered with the first five goals of the third quarter and outscored Eastern 7-1 in the period to carry a 13-9 lead into the fourth.
 
In the third, Keene scored three (straight) on free-position shots, connecting on five of six in the game while the Warriors missed six of their seven free-position attempts.
 
Parisi, Seltzer and LeBeau all had three goals in the match, with Parisi adding two assists to move her to within three points of 11 in her career. Senior Emma Oliano   (Wallingford) won four draws and had four ground balls while graduate Kaylee Drobish (Wallingford) won three draws and had two ground balls. Seltzer had three ground balls and caused three turnovers.
 
The Warriors are a four-time LEC playoff champion but have not reached the finals since 2018 and are looking for their first title since 2013.
 
Eastern hosts the University of Massachusetts Boston (5-7, 0-4 LEC) Saturday at 1 p.m. in the first conference match between the programs. Eastern won, 20-7, in the first meeting between the programs last year in a non-conference contest. The Beacons are competing in women's lacrosse for the first season this year after instituting their program in 2024.