Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Fifth-seed UMass Dartmouth women's lacrosse couldn't overcome a hot start by the Panthers on Tuesday evening, falling in the Little East Conference quarterfinals to No. 4 seed Plymouth State by a 12-8 score. The Corsairs close the season with an 8-8 overall record, the program's highest win total since 2008, including a 7-1 record at Cressy Field.
A trio of Corsairs, including sophomore Leah Douty (Framingham, Mass.), junior Catrina Longo (Billerica, Mass.) and sophomore Erin Kish (Littleton, Mass.) paced the offense with two goals apiece. Four Panthers combined for nine of the hosts' goals, paced by junior Caroline Vonachen's (Framingham, Mass.) hat trick.
Plymouth State came out of the gates fast, jumping to a 6-0 lead before the Corsairs could crack the scoreboard at 25:31 into the first half. After another Plymouth State goal stretched the lead to 7-1, the Corsairs closed out the first half with Douty and Longo firing in scores.
UMass Dartmouth would carry the momentum into the second half, scoring three of the next four to cut the lead down to 8-6. Longo and junior Taylor Hill (Braintree, Mass.) each contributed a goal and assist during the span, with senior Colleen Kane (Arlington, Mass.) also adding a score.
The Panthers would eventually pull away, registering three straight goals starting at 19:17 to extend the lead to 12-7, before Kish potted her second goal of the game with 1:10 remaining to bring the score to 12-8 in favor of the Panthers.
Junior Jess Miles (Lynnfield, Mass.) picked up a team-high four ground balls for the Corsairs. Douty caused a pair of turnovers and scooped up three ground balls, while leading the Corsairs in shots on the evening.
Freshman Kaitlyn Burchill (Bridgewater, Mass.) turned aside 14 shots for the Corsairs, while her counterpart junior Meg Brault (South Windsor, Mass.) made 16 stops in the crease for the hosting Panthers.
Kane, the lone Corsair senior, wraps up her historic career for UMass Dartmouth, finishing second in program history in both goals (223) and points (279), trailing only Katelyn Elliott '07. Her 64 goals this season marked a new career high, bettering her previous best total of 63 which she set as a freshman in 2013.
The Panthers will move on with a 10-6 record and travel to No. 1 seed Eastern Connecticut on Thursday in the LEC Semifinals.
