PLYMOUTH – Eastern Connecticut State University Women’s Soccer team proved themselves as Warriors as they defeated Plymouth State University 1-0 in a thrilling and soggy Little East Conference match-up at Panther Field. Andrea Gayeski scored the only goal for the Warriors early in the second half, ultimately leading to the Panther’s defeat.
Eastern Connecticut improved to 2-0-0 in the LEC, and 5-4-0 overall. The Panthers fell to 3-3-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the conference.
The Panthers and Warriors held on strong as the ball sailed up and down the field, keeping both team’s offense and defense on their toes. The Panthers offensive pressured the Warriors late in the second half. Despite their efforts, they failed at several goal attempts. With the first half entering the final minutes, the Panthers mustered all the offense that the Warriors could handle; nevertheless, the game entered halftime with the score deadlocked at zero. PSU out-shot ECSU 8-2 in the first half, faring better than their previous game against Worcester State on the 19th, where they finished with seven total shots.
The Warriors’ opened the second half strong, threatening the Panther defenders. It took less than two minutes for ECSU to strike as Andrea Gayeski nailed a shot past PSU goalkeeper Morgan McQuaide, her first of the season, after being assisted by Carrie Fleischer.
The Warriors continued to keep dominant possession of the ball, dumfounding the Panthers’ offense. The struggling Panthers managed to get one shot against ECSU goalkeeper Megan Gloster, but failed to score on the attempt.
ECSU goalkeeper Kim Church played the first half, making five saves for the Warriors. Megan Gloster saved the lone PSU shot in the second half as both ECSU goalkeepers earned the shutout. PSU goalkeeper Morgan McQuaide, who prior to the game had only allowed two goals and had made ten saves, had a solid day with five saves but suffered the loss.
The Panthers competed against Colby-Sawyer on Tuesday evening in a non-conference match-up at Panther Field. The Panthers successfully snapped their two-game losing skid when they defeated the Chargers 2-0.