PLYMOUTH – Revenge never felt so good.
With mere seconds remaining in Saturday’s showdown, the Plymouth State University women’s lacrosse team stormed Arold Field in celebration, claiming the LEC championship over defending-champion Eastern Connecticut, 9-5.
The Panthers notched their eighth straight victory to improve 13-5 overall on the season, and seal an automatic entry into Division III NCAA National Tournament. The Warriors, who placed second in the LEC, complete their season with an overall record of 9-8.
Junior Kelsey MacDonald, named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, scored two goals and contributed an assist in Panthers’ win. MacDonald also scored three goals the day before in PSU’s 20-11 victory over UMass Dartmouth, and completed the weekend with 13 ground balls, 10 draw controls and assisted in six caused turnovers for the Panthers.
Senior Bethany Brown finished the game with a team-leading three goals, while Junior Annie Pinault contributed with a goal and an assist. Also contributing in the Panther’s title victory were senior Nicole Evans and juniors Amanda Spadafora and Meg Cupoli, all of who scored one-goal apiece.
Junior Kara Bradley led Eastern Conn with three goals. Junior Jenna Faiola scored a goal and contributed with an assist, while freshman Elisa Rapuano scored one goal in the Warrior’s effort.
The Warriors went on the offensive early, keeping the Panthers’ defense on their toes. Two minutes in, Faiola fired a shot past sophomore goalie Sarah Beebe, giving the Warriors the early lead. The Panthers responded four minutes later as MacDonald took a shot to tie the game. The Panthers took the ball offensively, increasing their margin by two from shots by Brown and Spadafora. Before long, Bradley and Rapuano scored shots only 11 seconds apart from one another to tie the game 3-3.
PSU regained the lead after Brown shot her second goal of the day. PSU surrendered another goal to Bradley to tie the game 4-4 near the end of the half, but MacDonald secured the lead for the Panthers with her second goal of the day, putting Plymouth up 5-4 at the break.
The Panthers’ offensive looked promising early in the second, increasing their margin by two goals just three minutes in. Bradley would score the Warriors’ final goal third of the day to decrease their margin by one, but that was as close as Eastern Conn would get to defending their title. PSU maintained possession of the ball for much of the final 20 minutes of the game as Cupoli regained the Panthers’ two-goal lead, while Evans and Brown added insurance goals to secure the victory.
PSU finished the game with a 24-13 advantage in shots against ECSU, the top-ranked defense in the LEC. PSU sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Beebe made eight saves, earning the victory for the day, while the Warriors’ goalie Erin Calkins finished with seven saves.
The win gives Plymouth State their second NCAA appearance in three years, returning them to a tournament where they bowed out after two rounds in 2004. The Panthers opened play with a rematch of Colby on Wednesday, with the winner moving on to the Regionals at Middlebury on Saturday.