Worcester, MA --- Plymouth State freshman Kaitlyn Wilder (Framingham, MA) netted a hat trick to help pace a strong Panther offense in a 6-4 victory over Worcester State in the Little East Conference opener for each squad this afternoon at Coughlin Field.

Wilder got it started early for Plymouth State (1-3, 1-0 LEC) registering her first career goal on a breakaway at the 11:18 mark for the 1-0 advantage.

Two minutes later senior Jackie Morin (Scarborough, ME) connected with first-year Masha Lange (Danville, NH) off a penalty corner from the left side for the two goal edge forcing WSU to call time out and regroup.

The strategy worked and Worcester State (3-1, 0-1 LEC) cut the deficit in half when junior Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, MA) used the confusion of a foul to her advantage as she sprinted up the middle and fired a rocket from the top of the circle that found the right corner of the net for the 2-1 score at the 21:46 mark.

The Panthers came right back to regain their two goal margin when third-year Nikki Garvey (Canaan, NH) redirected a pass from senior Lauren Caroll (Rollinsford, NH) into the back of the net at 26:12 for the 3-1 score at the intermission.

WSU came out of the break and netted two consecutive goals over the first 20 minutes of action to tie the score and set up a thrilling finish.

Freshman Katelyn Carmody (Shelburne Falls, MA) started the comeback when she received a beautiful pass from sophomore Julie O'Rourke (Worcester, MA) off a penalty corner on the left side of the net and deposited it at the 42:44 mark.

Freshman Meghan Pini (Natick, MA) then cashed in on a scrum in front of the net as she took a feed from junior Molly Kilday (Westford, MA) for the 3-3 tie with 15:40 remaining in regulation.

Wilder answered just over four minutes later when she let loose a missile off a penalty corner for the 4-3 edge at 58:18.

Plymouth State was then able to convert another penalty corner when Garvey put one between the pipes with her blast from just inside the circle for the 5-3 lead at the 64:01 mark.

Worcester State responded 73 seconds later as Carmody found junior Katelyn Abber (Dedham, MA) on an odd man rush to make it a one-goal game at 5-4 with 4:36 remaining.

However, Wilder was able to ice the game when she turned the trick on a breakaway with two ticks remaining in regulation for the 6-4 final.

Plymouth State outshot the Lancers 28-17 (14-8 on goal) while also holding the 13-10 margin in penalty corners.

Junior Kaitlyn Warren (Boscawen, NH) recorded her first victory of the campaign raising her record to 1-2 as she stopped four balls for the Panthers. WSU senior Allison Romano (E. Bridgewater, MA) recorded eight saves sin the defeat as her record drops to 3-1.

With her tally this afternoon, McPherson became the 32nd field hockey student-athlete to join the 25-point club as she now has 11 goals and four assists in three seasons for the Lancers.

Both teams return to action Tuesday as Worcester State squares up with crosstown rival WPI at 7 PM and Plymouth State returns home to face-off with New England College at 4 PM.

Story By John Hanna --- Sports Information Graduate Assistant