Women's Lacrosse Edged by Plymouth State, 14-13

NEW HAMPTON, N.H. -- The Plymouth State University Panthers edged visiting Bridgewater State University, 14-13, in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday evening at The New Hampton School.

Juniors Amy MacDonald (Hull, Mass.) and Molly Gleason (Haverhill, Mass.) scored goals 16 second apart with 10 minutes remaining in the second half, breaking an 11-11 tie and sending the Panthers to the victory.

PSU won its sixth straight game to improve to 6-2 overall, while BSU had its six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 8-4.

The Panthers got a game-high four goals and an assist from junior Shannon Connerty (Nashua, N.H.), including consecutive goals early in the second half to give PSU an 11-9 advantage. Gleason potted three goals and collected a team-high six draw controls, while MacDonald and freshman Jordyn Godfrey (Glenville, N.Y.) chipped in with two goals apiece. MacDonald and Gleason share the PSU team lead with 20 goals this season.

Senior Taylor Clancy (Braintree, Mass.) played an outstanding game for the Bears.  Clancy tallied six points on a game-high five goals and an assist, and she collected a game-high seven draw controls and three caused turnovers. Clancy took over the Bears' scoring lead with 37 goals. Sophomore Lauren Geary (Hull, Mass.) also scored five goals for BSU and junior Katharine Trahan (Burlington, Mass.) chipped in with a pair, and freshman Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) grabbed five draw controls.

PSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead ten minutes into the game, behind a pair of goals by Gleason, and maintained the lead most of the first half. The teams traded goals over the next ten minutes to give PSU a 7-2 lead, but BSU outscored the home team 6-1 over the final 10 minutes to even the score at 8-8. Geary scored four of the six BSU goals in the rally, and Trahan tied the score with 34 seconds remaining in the half.

Clancy scored for Bridgewater 33 seconds into the second half to give the Bears their only lead of the game. PSU answered with three straight goals, one by freshman Caroline Vonachen (Framingham, Mass.) and two by Connerty, to pull ahead 11-9, but Geary and freshman Alex King (Weymouth, Mass.) answered for the Bears to tie it again, 11-11, with 15:36 to play.

MacDonald and Gleason gave PSU the lead for good with 10:23 and 10:07 remaining, respectively, and sophomore Emily Tilton (Cranston, R.I.) added an insurance goal five minutes later. Clancy scored two more goals for BSU but PSU held on for the one-goal win.

Senior Lorin Field (Hollis, N.H.) earned the win in goal for PSU, making six saves. Freshman Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) made eight saves in the BSU goal.

Plymouth State returns to Little East Conference play Saturday with a visit to Eastern Connecticut State University for a 12 noon opening draw. Bridgewater State resumes Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action next Tuesday, Apr. 15, hosting Westfield State University at 7:00 p.m.

Notes: Clancy became the eighth player in BSU women's lacrosse history to reach the 200-point milestone and just the third player to record 200 draws. Clancy now has 202 points (146G, 56A) and 201 draws in four seasons with the Bears…Geary reached the 100-point plateau as she now has 101 points (72G, 29A) in just two seasons at Bridgewater.