Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Corsairs had an answer for every Eastern Connecticut surge, outscoring the Warriors 9-6 in the second half to edge out a 14-13 Little East Conference women's lacrosse victory at Cressy Field on Saturday afternoon.
The victory marks the first for UMass Dartmouth over the Warriors since April 15, 2004, when the Corsairs prevailed 14-10 at home. The program had previously dropped 14-straight to ECSU, with now only four wins against the Warriors in program history. UMass Dartmouth rises to 2-1 in the LEC (6-5 overall) for the first time since 2009, while ECSU is now 7-5 and 1-1 in the league.
Senior Colleen Kane (Arlington, Mass.) again paced the Corsair offense, registering five goals and two assists. Junior Catrina Longo (Billerica, Mass.) tallied four goals to go along with a pair of assists, while sophomore Leah Douty (Framingham, Mass.) buried a hat trick, all in the second half.
The Warriors received two high-powered performances, as junior Paige Schneider (East Lyme, Conn.) and freshman Michelina Pinto (Groton, Conn.) each potted five goals. Pinto was also a difference-maker at midfield, collecting five draw controls, and Schneider collected seven ground balls.
After seeing an early two-goal deficit, ECSU scored three-straight in less than a minute midway through the first half to secure its first lead of the game. Schneider put into back-to-back goals at 17:43 and 18:25, respectively, to cap the streak started by Pinto at 17:10. Longo tied the score back at five at 22:43, but Devyne Doran (South Kingstown, R.I.) and Pinto put the Warriors up 7-5 heading into half.
Pinto scored again a minute and a half into the second stanza, but the hosts came back firing. Junior Jess Miles (Lynnfield, Mass.) netted only her second goal of the season to kick off a four-goal Corsair run, including two from Kane and the final score from Douty to regain the lead at 9-8.
Eastern Connecticut responded with two-straight to go back up by one, but Douty scored her second-straight for UMass Dartmouth at 17:10 to halt the run. Longo registered a free-position goal at 18:37 and Douty tallied yet again at 20:31, putting the Corsair advantage at 12-10.
The game saw its seventh tied score following back-to-back goals off the stick of Schneider with seven minutes remaining. At 27:12, Kane scored, making the score 13-12 in UMass Dartmouth's favor, and then Longo put the advantage at two goals with just a minute and a half remaining on a free-position goal.
The Warriors would make a last-ditch push in the final minute, resulting in a goal for Katie Burke (South Windsor, Conn.), but UMass Dartmouth's keep-away and defensive efforts preserved the victory in the end.
Freshman Kaitlyn Burchill (Bridgewater, Mass.) put forth her sixth double-digit save effort of the season to backstop the Corsairs, while ECSU's Taylor Emmerson (Colchester, Conn.) turned aside nine shots. Defensively, junior Kathryn Gibb (Georgetown, Mass.) caused three turnovers and Miles added two to support Burchill.
Both teams continue conference play on Tuesday, as UMass Dartmouth hosts Rhode Island College at 7 p.m. and Eastern Connecticut will entertain Western Connecticut at 3:30 p.m.
