Danbury, Conn. – Plymouth State defeats conference rival Western Connecticut 17-10. Nine different Panthers scored goals to tie PSU’s season high. The win puts them at a solid 8-2 record, being 4-1 in the Little East Conference. Western Connecticut drops to 8-6, while posting a 2-3 record in the LEC.
After West Conn’s Freshman Nate Wilson scored the first goal of the game early, Plymouth began rolling quickly. Four quick unanswered goals by PSU followed and after letting up one more to West Conn, Plymouth’s Nick Morello (N. Billerica, Mass.) scored two of his own. The score remained 6-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Getting early leads has proved to be big in Plymouth’s success and the boys decided to capitalize. The second quarter was all PSU’s for the taking when Brett Miller (Windham, NH), Nick Morello, Ty Long (Dover, NH) and Chris Annunciata (Waltham, Ma.) all found the back of the net. Going into half time Plymouth led the grind 10-2.
Western Connecticut had a real solid third quarter and outscored Plymouth 5-3.PSU Junior Brett Miller Scored his third goal of the night at the end of the quarter to make the score stand at 13-7. Early in the fourth quarter, West Conn scored two goals in three minutes, and cut the lead to 13-9. Plymouth did not let their confidence fall, and quickly put out West Conn’s fire. Plymouth’s Mike Ventura (Columbia, N.J.) and Chris Annunciata fired two goals each, sealing the coffin on Western Connecticut. John Foristall took an unassisted goal in for Western Conn. but it wouldn’t be enough, and the score would be final at 17-10.
Sophmore Nick Morello had a huge day for the Panthers scoring four goals and increasing his season point total to 15 (13 Goals, 2 Assists). Junior Goalie Jesse Kutz (Hopkington, Ma.) had 11 saves and delivered a win for the Panthers. Junior Scott Giusti (West Newton, Ma.) has been a monster for Plymouth on the draw and improved his total to 93 wins on 143 face-offs. They were the top catalysts in this big conference matchup
Plymouth State looks to keep their two game win streak going Wednesday in what will most likely be the regular season game of the year for the Panthers. They take on the Little East Conference leader Keane State. KSC has been a power house this year posting a 5-0 conference record and an 11-2 overall record, putting them at first place in the LEC. PSU remains tied with Eastern Connecticut for second place in the conference.