Box Score
PLYMOUTH, N.H. – A year ago in the semifinal round of the Little East Conference women's lacrosse tournament at Panther Field, top-seeded Plymouth State University countered five straight Eastern Connecticut State University goals by scoring the final five of the match to eliminate the fifth-seeded Warriors by three goals.
 
On Monday, the Panthers scored the first five goals, but this time, it was Eastern that countered with a consecutive goal spurt of six that crested with a final 11-1 scoring run in a 13-8 decision in a makeup game at Panther Field.
 
With its third win in the last four matches, Eastern (5-6, 3-1 LEC) snaps a five-game losing streak at Panther Field against Plymouth (4-8, 2-3 LEC), which had defeated the Warriors in nine of the previous ten overall meetings. The Warriors have now won two straight road games after losing their first four.
 
As she has numerous times this year, three-time first-team All-LEC attack Alexa Vizzini (Vernon, NJ) scored multiple consecutive goals to spark Eastern's decisive run of six straight markers that turned a 7-2 deficit into an 8-7 lead with 12 seconds left in the first half.

The Panthers struck for the first goal – which ultimately, proved to be their final one -- three minutes into the second half to create the second tie of the match but the hosts would never lead – or score – again. The Warriors limited Plymouth to that one second-half goal and shut it out over the final 27 minutes to send it to its third loss in its last four matches.
 
Held scoreless over the first 21 minutes, Vizzini exploded to score all five of her goals (and all but two of the team's seven) in a 24 minute stretch that turned a 7-4 deficit into an 11-8 lead entering the final quarter.  
 
Vizzini did it once again on both ends of the field. In addition to five goals and two assists and recording 13 of the team's 30 shots, Vizzini upped her team-leading total to 49 by collecting seven of the team's 11 draws and also won five ground balls and caused three turnovers.
 
Junior midfielder Neely Hart (Colchester) matched Vizzini with five ground balls and also caused two turnovers, while junior defender Grace Saldaña (Colchester) picked up four ground balls and won two draws. Junior defender Sophia Ramino (Haddam-Killingworth) won three ground balls.
 
Behind Vizzini, first-year junior transfer Thea O'Connor (Rocky Hill) chipped in two goals and three assists and sophomore midfielder Jocelyn Kennedy (Southington) two goals.

In similar fashion to Saturday's non-conference home loss to Montclair State University, the physical play resulted in numerous (20) green and yellow cards. In contrast to Saturday, however, Eastern's opponent was saddled with the majority (13) of the cards and in proved costly to the Panthers as sophomore transfer attack Ella Huard (Southington), Vizzini and Kennedy all netted extra-man goals in a stretch of nine minutes spanning the final seconds of the first half and the first nine minutes of the second. Vizzini and Kennedy's man-up strikes came less than a minute apart and gave the Warriors the lead for good, 10-8 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
 
Making her second career start in three days, senior Kasi DaCruz (Suffield) needed only six saves to record her first career victory.
 
Vizzini's final goal which came with a minute left in the third quarter moved her to within a goal of becoming the third player in program history with as many as 200 career goals, joining Eastern Hall of Famers Mo Deegan (243) and Stephanie Altman (205). Vizzini's seven points in the match also move her into a tie for second place all-time in that category with two-sport star Daniela Marchitto, with 252. Deegan's 379 points stand as the most points in program history.
 
Vizzini's 40 goals and 53 points this year mark the fourth straight year that she has reached the 40-goal and 50-point levels in a season.
 
Eastern plays the second of five straight LEC matches which conclude the regular season Wednesday when it hosts Keene State College (5-8, 2-2 LEC) at 4 p.m. at Rick McCarthy Field. The Warriors eliminated the Owls in the first round of last year's LEC playoffs at Keene, NH, 15-9.