WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University Lancers ended Plymouth State's undefeated Little East Conference (LEC) record with a major 1-0 victory at John F. Coughlin Field on Saturday. With the win the Lancers improve to 7-5 and 4-3 in the LEC. The Plymouth State Panthers drop to 8-3 and 6-1 in the LEC.
The blue and gold came out firing on all cylinders in the first half. Just over one minute into the game, senior midfielder, Julie O'Rourke (Worcester, Mass.), started off the pressure with a great shot that just trickled wide. O'Rourke's shot was followed by relentless offensive pressure by Worcester State.
About two minutes later the Lancers broke through, with what would be the first and only goal of the game. Senior midfielder Erika Lepkowski (Baldwinville, Mass.) received a pass at the top of the circle and then fired a low hard shot on goal. It looked as if it would be a save but sophomore midfielder Jolane Thibault (Douglas, Mass.) would not let that happen. Thibault reached her stick out and showed a great display of hand-eye coordination and deflected the ball into the upper left corner to cement the 1-0 win.
Plymouth had their own chances but could not seem to figure out Worcester State's sophomore goalkeeper, Kathryn Salemme (Boxboro, Mass.). Salemme made two major saves to keep the ball out of the net - the best one being with six minutes remaining in regulation. The Panthers' sophomore forward, Lily Davis (Boscawen, NH) received a great pass eight yards out and looked to fire a shot on goal. Salemme came out quick off her line to cut down the angle and stone Davis. That would be the Panthers' last chance as after that, Worcester State would hold the ball in Plymouth's end to run out the clock.
"We played an all around great game today," said head coach Kim Cosenza. "We've been working towards playing a full 70 minutes of hockey and we were able to do just that today - from the back field all the way through to the front line we came out with fire and were really connecting well with one another all over the field. It was a true team effort."
Each team logged 12 shots on the afternoon, while Plymouth State had a penalty corner advantage of 10-8. On the defensive end Plymouth State recorded nine saves, while Worcester tallied up eight. The Panthers' junior defender Madison Beatrice (Newton, Mass.) had a game-high two defensive saves on the afternoon.
Despite Plymouth States' goalkeeper, Alivia Bates' (Pennsauken, NJ) first loss of the season, she still recorded six saves on the afternoon. On the Worcester end, Salemme tallied up four.
"Plymouth is a very skilled and fast team and they put some great pressure on us throughout the game but we were thrilled to come away with the win," said Cosenza.
The Lancers are back in action Tuesday when they travel across town to take on Clark University for a 7:00 p.m. matchup. The Panthers won't see action until next Saturday when they will take on LEC opponent UMass Dartmouth on the road with a 1:00 p.m. start time.
Release written by Connor Haynes, Sport Information Intern