Women's Lacrosse Looks to Continue Strong Conference Play

The Plymouth State Women's Lacrosse team got off to a good start in their first Little East Conference game, as they defeated the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth, 18-4 last Saturday, April 6^th. This brings the teams overall record to 5-2, as they have played in four games since the last issue of the clock came out (note: the team had their first home game yesterday afternoon, but was unable to be included in this issue).

The four game span had its ups, and downs, as the team was able to go 3-1 over a nine-day span. Overall, the Panthers outscored their opponents, 61-38 in this span.

To kick off this four game span, the Panthers defeated Castleton State, 18-8, on Thursday, March 28^th. A balanced attack led the Panthers, as Shannon Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) and Amy MacDonald (Hull, Mass.) had four goals apiece, while Meghan Grabowski (West Hartford, CT) and Caitlin Swanson added three goals individually. Meghan McNabb had a career game as well, as she had a game-high nine points, with two goals and seven assists in the game.

Not to be outdone, the defense by Plymouth State limited Castleton to 22 shots on goal, in which Junior Captain Lorin Field had 14 saves.  Amanda Richardson (Bradford, N.H.), Kristen Guest (Sandwich, Mass.), and Anna Kirwan (Scituate, Mass.) combined for 16 ground balls on defense.

The following Tuesday, April 2^nd, the Panthers had a game that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Going against a Connecticut College team that had just lost to the #1 ranked team in the nation (in Trinity College) by one goal. Needless to say, PSU was ready to make a statement against one of the best teams in the nation.

Plymouth got off to an extremely fast start, as Connerty and Swanson put five shots into the back of the net only 11:10 into the game. Conn College regained momentum for the rest of the first half, as they were able to go on a 7-1 run to put the score at 9-6 at halftime. The Panthers appeared to be staring at a 2-2 record, as the Camels had the first three goals of the second half. Little did we know, the Panthers were just getting started.

After Connerty and MacDonald scored, At this point, Head Coach Kristin Blanchette put sophomore Casey Curran (Framingham, Mass.) into net, which was ultimately the turning point of the contest.

Not only did Curran play phenomenal for the rest of the game, but the offense stepped their game up, as they were able to score seven of the next ten goals behind Connerty, MacDonald and McNabb. MacDonald tied up the game with :40 left in the second half. In the second half of the second overtime period (neither team was able to score in the first six-minute span), MacDonald scored the game-winning goal, in which pandemonium occurred.

Having a game less than 48 hours after this unbelievable victory hurt the Panthers, as they only had a day of practice to prepare for a game against Bridgewater State.  This game went into overtime as well, but Bridgewater pulled out the 11-9 victory, putting their record at 4-2.

Putting the past two games on the back-burner was crucial for Plymouth, as they needed to come out with their guns blazing against UMass Dartmouth. As stated early, they certainly did this, as they came out ahead 18-4 in the game. The defense, lead by Guest, Richardson, Carly Floyd (Madison, CT) and Allison Gonyea (Auburn, N.H.) held the Corsairs to only seven shots on goal, or one shot about every eight and a half minutes.

Plymouth looks to build on the games that they have had this season, as they really start to get into the thick of things into their schedule. Upon having their first Little East Conference game last week, the PSU has only two non-conference games left for the rest of the regular season.

Come out to Arold Field tomorrow, April 13^th, as the Panthers look to continue their winning ways as they take on LEC rival Eastern Connecticut!