WORCESTER, Mass. –Eastern Connecticut State University's Tristan Kijak (Windsor, Conn.) led the Warriors to an eight-goal second half rally to surpass the Lancers of Worcester State and take home an 11-10 victory on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Coughlin Field.
THE BASICS
April 3, 2018
Coughlin Field
Score: Eastern Connecticut 11, Worcester Sate 10
Records: Eastern Connecticut (3-5) | Worcester State (4-5)
1ST HALF
Worcester State scored the first two goals of the game to take a 2-0 lead on tallies from Mackenzie Little (Marlborough, Mass.) and Alexis Vecchiarelli (Agawam, Mass.). Kijak put the Warriors on the board in the fifth minute, but Worcester State pushed ahead with a 3-0 run led by Little for a 5-1 advantage. Michelina Pinto (Groton, Conn.) and Alyssa Powers (Ellington, Conn.) scored on free position shots in the last 14 minutes of the half to get within two, but Coley Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) put the Lancers up by three before the half as she scored on a helper from Abby Magnuson (Ellington, Conn.) with just over three minutes remaining.
2ND HALF
Hayes and Magnuson connected on another goal for Worcester to start the second half, but Eastern Connecticut used a 5-0 run to push ahead and take an 8-7 lead on shots from Pinto, Powers, and Kijak. Worcester State's Vecchiarelli broke the Warriors' run and knotted the game at 8-8 with 8:55 to go. Kijak responded with back-to-back goals with seven and six minutes remaining to give the Warriors' a 10-8 advantage, but Little would respond with two of her own for a 10-10 score with just over three minutes on the clock. Eastern Connecticut's Kijak found Maggie Bodington (Stratford, Conn.) for the game-winner with 2:26 on the clock. Worcester State found themselves with the ball in their offensive zone for the majority of the time remaining, but one of Worcester's shots was saved by Jessica Purick (Riverhead, N.Y.) and the other went just high with seconds on the clock for the Eastern Connecticut win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Eastern Connecticut's Kijak led the Warriors with five goals, one assist, five ground balls, and three caused turnovers.
- Worcester State's Little also registered five goals and picked up a team-high four draws and one ground ball.
- Pinto and Powers totaled three and two goals, respectively, for the Warriors.
- Vecchiarelli and Hayes tallied two and three goals, respectively, for Worcester State.
- Bodington and Katlyn Molony (Bethel, Conn.) had a game-high five draws apiece for Eastern Connecticut.
- Eastern Connecticut's Purick earned the win in net with nine saves on the afternoon, while Worcester State's Chloe O'Brien (Sturbridge, Mass.) was tabbed the loss in an 8-save performance.
- Eastern Connecticut held the advantage in draws (12-11), ground balls (33-23), but Worcester State edged the visitors in shots 30-27.
- Eastern Connecticut caused Worcester State 30 turnovers throughout the game.
UP NEXT
Eastern Connecticut returns to the field on Thursday (Apr. 5) and will host Wellesley in a 4 p.m. matchup. The Lancers return to Coughlin Field on Saturday (Apr. 7) when they host Massachusetts Maritime in a 12 noon conference tilt.
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