Women’s Lacrosse Captures LEC Regular Season Championship

The Plymouth State Women’s lacrosse team captured their seventh consecutive win against the University of Southern Maine on Tuesday night, 4/21, bringing their overall record to 11-3. The 14-0 win also propelled the Panthers’ Little East Conference (LEC) record to a perfect 5-0, allowing the team to capture the LEC regular season title.

Prior to the team’s most recent game, Plymouth defeated three other LEC teams to give them momentum heading into the game against USM. On April eleventh, PSU was able to thrash Eastern Connecticut State University, 17-5, behind five goals and an assist by senior Shannon Connerty (Nashua, N.H.), while fellow senior Amy MacDonald (Hull, MA) had four goals and an assist as well.

In this game, there wasn’t much doubt as to which team was going to come away with the win, as Plymouth was able to jump out to an 8-1 lead only 13:31 into the game.  Strong play by midfielder Molly Gleason (Haverhill, MA, who had a game high three caused turnovers), and defenders Sophia Guerriero (Essex, MA), Megan Lunetta (Plymouth, MA), Becky Dale (Keene, N.H.) and Emily Tilton (Cranston, R.I.) limited the number of shots the Warriors were able to have. The defense of the Panthers limited ECSU to eight shots, in which three were saved by goalie Casey Curran (Framingham, MA).

Following the blowout of East Conn, it appeared that PSU might get routed themselves when they traveled to Keene, New Hampshire to take on the Owls. Keene State was able to jump out to an early 4-0 lead, but the team remained and looked extremely confident in their abilities despite trailing in the contest. Head Coach, Kristin Tracy, called a timeout that only gave the team reassurance, and following the timeout, that is when the fun started for the Panthers.

Caroline Vonachen (Framingham, MA) was able to get the scoring going for the Panthers, as Megan Tingley (Natick, MA) was able to find the sophomore Vonachen for the goals. Chest bump celebrations continued for Plymouth, as MacDonald, Gleason, Connerty and Vonachen all found the back of the net for the next five goals in the game to give Plymouth the 6-4 lead. 

Keene was able to cut the deficit to 6-5, but MacDonald and Gleason combined for three goals to propel the lead to 9-5. The Owls wouldn’t go away, adding two of their own, but Tingley was able to find the back of the net with 44 seconds left in the first half to give the Panthers a 10-7 lead.

In the second half, the scoring continued for PSU, as Vonachen and Connerty scored to enhance the lead to 12-7. Both teams exchanged three goals apiece over the next 13 minutes, but Curran was able to shut down any threat that Keene was able to bring in the last 12 minutes. Curran finished the second half with eight saves, while Vonachen had a team high three caused turnovers, and Gleason had a full stat-sheet, with two goals, six ground balls, seven draw controls and two caused turnovers. This is the third consecutive trip that the Panthers have come away with a win when they have traveled down to Keene State College.

Last Saturday (4/18) morning, PSU was able to capture another LEC win over Western Connecticut State University, defeating the Colonials 22-15. A number of players on the offensive side of the field had big games, including Kaitlyn Wilder (Framingham, MA, four goals, six assists), MacDonald (six goals, two assists), Tingley (three goals, two assists), Connerty (three goals and an assists) and Vonachen (three goals). Gleason and senior Rachel Fistori had great games in the midfield, as the dynamic duo posted a combined two goals and four assists, to compliment six ground balls and six caused turnovers.

The most recent game for the Panthers featured a spot that they seem comfortable in being in, as they were behind early against USM.  In the 2015 season, PSU’s opponent has been able to score first in seven of 14 games. Of the seven games that the opponent has scored first, Plymouth has been able to win five of the seven games. In short, this team is able to overcome deficits in games, and it was no different against Southern Main, who got out to an early 3-0 lead.

Like she did against Keene, Coach Tracy called a timeout out, and, just like what occurred against the Owls, PSU looked confident coming back in the game. The confidence showed over the next 13 minutes, as Wilder and Connerty scored two goals apiece to give PSU a 4-3 lead. Southern Maine, who came into the game with a 2-2 LEC record (though, both losses were by a goal to Keene and Western Connecticut) rallied, scoring five of the next six goals. Vonachen capped off the scoring in the first half to cut the Huskies’ lead to 8-6.

With the night being dedicated by the seniors, the team knew they needed to respond in the second half, and that is exactly what they did. Vonachen, Fistori, Gleason, Wilder, and Tingley scored the next seven goals of the game to give the Panthers a commanding 13-8 lead, and the defense of the Panthers did a great job in the second half, limiting USM to two goals. The Panthers were able to walk away with the 14-10 win.

As the last game of the regular season looms on Saturday (4/25), PSU will look to wrap up their regular season against Rhode Island College. This game doesn’t hold much weight for the Panthers, as they have already locked up the top-seed heading into the LEC post-season. The team will look to capture the win over RiC, to complete their third of four seasons being undefeated in regular season conference play. A big reason for the dominance in the LEC is due to the seniors on the Panthers’ team.

“They’ve single handedly turned this program around from freshman year to now due to their hard work, commitment and dedication to our goals and vision,” Head Coach Kristin Tracy said about her seniors. The combination of Rachel Fistori, Casey Curran, Shannon Connerty, Amy MacDonald and Molly Gleason has not only rewritten record books in both PSU and NCAA women’s lacrosse history, but has allowed the underclassmen to feel welcome within both the school and program. All five seniors have played extremely crucial roles both on-and-off the field, but won’t be satisfied until their teammates have an LEC post-season championship medal around their necks.

With the hope of winning back-to-back post-season championships within conference for the first time since 2004-2003, the Panthers won’t have to travel far in order to do so, only traveling to Kennedy Field in New Hampton for their games (about 15 minutes away).

“We have our work cut out for us,” Coach Tracy said. “We have plenty to work on, so we are definitely hungry and confident in our abilities, but ready for anything,” Tracy explained.

Chances are that the Panthers will face the University of Southern Maine next Thursday (4/30). If this ends up being the match-up, watch for USM to come hungry into the region with upset in mind, but for PSU to potentially capture a spot in the LEC championship game.