MANSFIELD, Conn. – The No. 4 seed Eastern Connecticut State Warriors (10-8) beat the No. 5 seed VTSU Castleton (7-11), 5-3, in the first round of the Little East Field Hockey Tournament at Rick McCarthy Field on Tuesday (Nov. 3).
Four different Warriors scored in the win with
Sophie Ash collecting two goals.
Grace Barlage,
Katie Harrington and
Mackenzie Ray each scored once. In goal,
Kate Paradise finished the game with 11 saves to earn the win in net.
The Warriors fell into an early hole allowing a goal from VTSU Castleton at 7:29 into the first quarter. Three minutes later, the Spartans doubled their lead.
With the quarter winding down, VTSU Castleton used a breakaway to get behind the Eastern defense and a crossing pass was tipped into the net on a diving effort to make it 3-0 after the first 15 minutes.
At the start of the second quarter, Eastern got a goal back. The Warriors earned a penalty corner and Harrington sent the ball in to Barlage at the top of the circle. Barlage passed the ball to Ash on the right wing and Ash blasted a shot past the Castleton goalie for her fifth goal of the season.
Just three minutes later, the Warriors got the offense going again. After forcing a turnover,
Jenna Boardman weaved her way through the defense before passing to Barlage who got a quick shot off that found the back of the net to make the score 3-2.
Another three minutes later, Eastern found itself with another penalty corner. The ball was put in play and sent around the circle to the stick of
Ada Ellis. Ellis sent the ball on net and Harrington got her stick on the bouncing ball to deflect it past Izabella Cosden, tying the game at three.
With under a minute left in the half, Eastern made another drive into Castleton territory. After a restart on a foul, Ellis was able to dribble through the Spartan defense and get a shot off. The shot was blocked but the bouncing ball was tipped toward the net by Ash. Before a Castleton defender could get to it, Ray knocked the ball across the line, putting Eastern up 4-3 at halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Eastern got an insurance goal five minutes into the fourth. The Warriors forced a turnover in the Castleton end and got the ball to Barlage at the top of the circle. Barlage sent her shot on goal and the ball was tipped in by Ash for her second of the night to make it 5-3.
UP NEXT
Eastern moves on to face the No. 1 seed Southern Maine on Thursday (Nov. 5) beginning at 6:30 p.m.
