Women's Lacrosse Playoff game Tomorrow at 1:00 P.M.

 Last Saturday, April 28th, the Plymouth State Women's Lacrosse team capped off an undefeated conference record, by defeating Rhode Island College, 19-8. This game concluded the regular season for the Panthers, as they ended up with a 13-1 overall record, and 6-0 in Little East Conference play (the first time the Panthers' have done this since 2006).

 The Panthers got off to an extremely quick start, as first year player Shannon Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) scored the first of her four goals in the first :16 seconds of action. Plymouth didn't waste any time to score again, as Amy MacDonald (Hull, Mass.) scored another goal within a minute of Connerty's (this goal also allowed Meghan McNabb (Lexington, Mass.) to set the PSU Women's Lacrosse record for assists in a season). After Macdonald's second goal, Molly Gleason (Haverhill, Mass) got her second draw control of the game, which set a Plymouth State Women's Lacrosse record with 102 on the season (Gleason had four more in the contest to set the record at 106). Upon this record being set, the rout was on. Only sixteen minutes into the contest, the Panthers had a 7-1 lead.

While RiC was able to score two goals, the Panthers got rid of any hope the anchorwomen had at a comeback, as Connerty, MacDonald, McNabb and MeKenna Bay (Maracaibo, Venezuela) added a total of five goals to put the lead at 12-4 going into halftime.   

The start of the second half was much of the same for PSU, as Bay, McNabb, Caitlin Swanson (Holderness, N.H.) and Amanda Richardson (Bradford, N.H.) opened up the lead to 19-4 with just over ten minutes left in the game. While the offensive production was phenomenal (the Panthers scored on 76% of their shots), the defense played fantastic as well, lead by seniors Nora Regan (West Hartford, CT) and Jill Gerzabek (Branford, CT), who played in their final regular season game in the green and white. Sophomore Lorin Field (Hollis, N.H.) had ten saves in the contest, and closed out the season with a 7.89 goals against average.

Head Coach Kristin Blanchette was all smiles after the game, as this solidified the Panthers the #1 see in the Little East Conference tournament. Blanchette, of course, didn't take all of the credit. "They are all excited. They know how special it is to be apart of this year's team" Blanchette said of the team. "They are an amazing group of women and I feel so lucky to be their coach every day" added Blanchette.

Plymouth looks to win the LEC tournament for the first time since 2006, but knows that it will not be any easy task, as every team comes into the playoffs with a 0-0 record. "We have to continue to play good lacrosse for 60 minutes. Yes, we are the #1 seed and all this and that, but once playoffs start, it's anyone's time. It is not time for us to be complacent and get comfortable resting on out past laurels or successes" Blanchette said. With Blanchette reiterating this to the team, not only will the Panthers be ready for their opponent (Western Connecticut State University), but they will be playing with a chip on their shoulder, looking to continue to show how dominant of a team they have been all season.

This team has had an extremely successful season so far as they have broken different record across the board (both individually and as a team). As Coach Blanchette added "Let's show our competition what Plymouth is all about. Come cheer us on and create a great game atmosphere for one of the most successful women's lacrosse teams in PSU lax history!!" Watch for this team to follow in the Men's Ice Hockey team's shoes, and continue their great season into the playoffs!

Tidbits and Recognition

-Coach Blanchette on Molly Gleason and Meghan McNabb upon breaking their respective records "Molly and Meg "McNasty" are both incredible competitors. They just have an outstanding level of confidence and poise that is really hard to find in freshman players. I knew when I had them on campus as recruits that they would be very successful in my program because of how they held themselves and communicated with my staff and I. Both Meg and Molly never stops asking questions. Both of them always rise to the challenge and never let anything stand in the way of their goals."

- Congratulations to both Nora Regan and Jill Gerzabek on phenomenal careers at Plymouth. Gerzabek has been in the program all four years here at PSU, while Regan has been a captain of the team the past two years.

-A win over West Conn today would be the first playoff win for the PSU Women's Lacrosse program since 2009 (in which Gerzabek was the only current Panther to play in that game).