Plymouth State Women's Lacrosse Captures 10th Consecutive Win

For the first time since 2007, the Plymouth State women's lacrosse team defeated both Eastern Connecticut State University (13-8) and Keene State University (16-13) this past week. This puts the Panthers' record to 10-1, and 3-0 in Little East Conference play (this includes a 20-7 win over Framingham State last Thursday).

As it has been all season for Plymouth, a numerous amount of players contributed in each win. Against the Rams of Framingham, first-year Shannon Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) scored a career high seven goals (to go along with two assists), while Molly Gleason (Haverhill, N.H.) continued her outstanding season, as she had 12 draw controls. The Panthers were able to score on 83% of their shots on goal, as sophomore McKenna Bay (Maracaibo, Venezuela) had a hat trick, while first year players Emily Davis (Boscawen, N.H.) and Meghan McNabb (Lexington, Mass.) had two goals apiece (for Davis, this was her first career goals at PSU). Carly Floyd (Madison, Conn.) also scored in this game, and like Davis, this was her first career goal as a Panther.

The meat and potatoes of the Panthers' schedule really got going last Saturday, as PSU played Eastern Connecticut (who, going into the season, were picked to win the conference title). Plymouth took the lead away from the Warriors of ECSU only 3:54 into the game, and never looked back. The Panthers played suffocating defense (lead by Nora Regan [West Hartford, Conn.] and Allison Gonyea [Auburn, N.H.]), which lead to 15 turnovers by Eastern Connecticut. The forced turnovers lead to a number of goals by Plymouth, as McNabb had seven points (three assists, four goals), while Connerty and Caitlin Swanson (Holderness, N.H.) had eight combined goals. 

Going into the game against Keene State on Tuesday, Apr.17th, first place in the Little East Conference was on the line, as both teams came in with 2-0 in-conference records, and only three combined losses. Going into the game, Head Coach Kristin Blanchette stated "Keene State is an incredible team and will be a huge test for us." The Panthers were more then ready for this game, as PSU held a 7-4 lead 22:21 into the first half, with a 7-3 run following (including four Connerty goals) to start off the second half. The Panthers were able to build-up a 15-9 lead in the second half, which was more then enough of a lead for the victory. Goalie Lorin Field (Hollis, N.H.) had 12 saves in the victory, which was the third most saves Field has had this season (her season high is 15 against Springfield to start the season off).  To say that this team was jubilant to defeat their in-state rival would be quite an understatement.

While the Panthers have had an unbelievable start to their season, they know that they can't overlook any opponent. "We have always preached to the girls about taking one game at a time," said Coach Blanchette. The schedule doesn't get much easier for Plymouth, as they face Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, Apr. 21st. The Colonials have a 9-4 overall record going into their game against PSU and are 2-1 in Little East Conference play. A win against WCSU almost guarantees that Plymouth will have at least a first round bye in the LEC tournament.

As I have stated before, this team has the potential to do some serious damage not only for the rest of the regular season, not only in the LEC tournament, but the NCAA tournament in May. Wins such as the ones over Keene and ECSU show that this team is a threat against any opponent, and this team has a lot of confidence, but at the same time, they stay true to themselves. The Panthers know that they have yet to have a perfect game yet, and Coach Blanchette will continue to push this team until then.

Tidbits and Recognition

• For the third time this season, Molly Gleason was named LEC or ECAC defender of the week. Between the past five games, Gleason has collected 51 draw controls.
• Shannon Connerty was named LEC Rookie of the week, as Connerty has had some monster games over the past week (22 points over the past three games). Connerty also gets the quote of the week, saying, "I just love to play lacrosse!"
• Meghan McNabb has had an unreal season so far (34 goals, 32 assists) and is currently tied with PSU alumni Katie Sheridan for the single-season assists record with three games left to play.
• With five points against Keene, Caitlin Swanson moved into the top 20 in career points for the Panthers.
• This green hair is quite interesting......