Lancers Hold Strong as they Bring Down the Warriors

The Lancer field hockey squad made the trip down to Eastern Connecticut State University early this afternoon for a late season conference match up with the Warriors. In a tough defensive battle, Worcester State was able to come away with a 2-1 victory that gave them their eighth Little East Conference win of the season.

The first quarter was played closely as neither team got much of an edge. Only three total shots were taken, two by Worcester State and one by ECSU, and all of them were saved by the goalies. It wasn't until about four and a half minutes into the second quarter that the scoreless tie was broken when sophomore forward Natalya Morin (Barre, Mass.) found the back of the net to put the Lancers on top, 1-0. While that was the lone goal scored in the second quarter, Worcester State looked to be in control as they were able to put a little pressure on the Warrior defense with five shots. The Lancer backside held strong only allowing a single shot on net that was saved.

Coming out of halftime with a 1-0 lead, the Lancers wasted no time giving themselves some insurance via a goal from senior Karalyn Jones (Wilbraham, Mass.). Jones' goal was her seventh on the season, and second in as many games. It would be the last of the scoring for the Lancers, as they would depend on their defense and goalkeeping to secure themselves the victory in the final 28 minutes of gameplay.

Eastern Connecticut tested the Lancers defense in the final quarter as they put five shots on net, their most in any quarter this afternoon. With a little over six minutes left to play, the Warriors finally got one to go in and pulled within one, but the Lancers held strong and escaped Windham, Conn. with a 2-1 win.

The win makes Worcester State a respectable 8-2 in Little East play, while their overall record stands at 11-6 going into their final week of regular season play. Two Lancer field hockey games will be played this week, both pivotal conference games. The next will be at home on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. when they host Bridgewater State. Eastern Connecticut now stands at 6-9 overall, and 3-7 in the LEC.