Box Score
DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Strong offensive and defensive efforts from the Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse stunted the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs for a dominant 16-5 road win, Saturday afternoon at Cressy Field. With its third straight road win, Eastern (7-6, 5-1 LEC) retains a share of second place in the conference with two LEC regular-season matches remaining. Eastern is deadlocked with the University of Southern Maine (5-1 LEC) for second place, although the Huskies hold the tie-breaker on the stretch of a 14-5 home win over Eastern in the LEC opener March 28. USM trounced Rhode Island College at home Saturday, 22-1.
The top two seeds in the LEC playoffs earn first-round byes while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds host first-round matches April 28. Unofficially, one win in its final two LEC matches would give Eastern no worse than a first-round LEC home match.
Eastern hosts defending champion and LEC unbeaten (6-0) Western Connecticut Wednesday at 6 p.m. and visits VTSU Castleton (2-4 LEC) next Saturday at 1 p.m. Southern Maine hosts the University of Massachusetts Boston (4-2 LEC) Wednesday and closes at UMass Dartmouth Saturday.
Led by senior Alexa Vizzini (Vernon, NJ), who tallied five goals, five assists, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers, the Warriors restless pressure in the attacking third paired with a disruptive defensive performance held UMass Dartmouth scoreless across key stretches, powering a dominant road victory. Vizzini's final goal of the match moved her into sole possession of second place all-time, giving her 206, one ahead of Eastern Hall of Famer Stephanie Altman. Vizzini is also second all-time in points (265) and sixth in assists (59). Vizzini needs three goals to reach the 50-goal mark in a season for the third straight year.
Game Information:
- Score: Eastern Connecticut State University 16, UMass Dartmouth 5
- Records: Eastern (7-6) (LEC 5-1) , UMass Dartmouth (3--12) (LEC 0-6)
- Location: Dartmouth, Mass. | (Cressy Field)
How It Happened:
The Warriors and the Corsairs managed to finish even in a back and fourth first quarter, after UMass managed a striking 3-0 opening, capitalizing on back-to-back offensive attacks averaging one goal per minute until the Warriors were able to answer back at ten minute mark from lead goal scorer, Vizzini who broke the seal on a man-down free position shot, before gathering an assist and tacking on another goal to close the gap heading into the second.
On the momentum, the Warriors completely shut down the Corsairs in the second with a 6-0 scoring run that would doom UMass's fate and give the Warriors their 11th straight win over the Corsairs and 32nd in the 36-match series. Further, turnover troubles and a stack of failed clears halted any offensive progress for the Corsairs, leaving the host trailing considerably heading into the half 10-4.
The third quarter featured Eastern's continued success behind steady offensive execution as Ella Huard (Southington), Hannah Seltzer (Westerly, RI), and Vizzini helped keep the pressure on, controlling possession and limiting the Corsairs chances considerably. In the fourth, Eastern closed the door completely, adding late goals from Emma Oliano (Wallingford) and Thea O'Connor (Rocky Hill) while allowing just one final Corsair tally as the defense held firm for the 16-5 win.
Vizzini led all scorers and Huard followed with three goals and an assist, while Molly Page (Waterford) contributed two goals and an assist with three ground balls.
Defensively, Eastern totaled 27 ground balls and forced 13 turnovers, with Grace Saldana (Colchester) and former high school teammate Neely Hart (Colchester) each contributing multiple ground balls and caused turnovers in the effort and Maizie Rukat (Peru, VT) made six saves over 45 minutes to earn the win, while Kasi DaCruz (Suffield) added one save.
Up Next:
The Warriors host Western Connecticut State University Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Rick McCarthy Field in a conference match.
