DANBURY, Conn. – Powered by a strong opening half of action, the Western Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team posted a 20-6 win over UMass Dartmouth in Little East Conference action on Tuesday evening. The Wolves move to 11-2 and remain a perfect 4-0 in conference action, while the Corsairs slip to 7-5 and 1-3 in the LEC.
Despite the loss, a number of records fell in Tuesday's contest for the Corsairs, as rookie midfielder
Maddie Wright broke four season records. She recorded five goals in the contest, moving to 72 tallies on the season, which bests the all-time seasonal mark of 71 set by Katelyn Elliott in 2006. Wright now has 88 points on the season, eclipsing the record of 85 previously set in 2013 by Colleen Kane.
In addition to the goals and points, Wright posted three goals on the free position, giving her 23. That mark bests the previous high of 22 set by Sam Muir in 2019. Finally, she posted six draw controls on the evening to move to 94 on the season. That total eclipses the old record of 91 set last season by teammate
Melanny Sanchez Alvarez.
It was a close battle to start the game as the Wolves scored first but a marker by junior midfielder
Widline Thomas at the 14:18 mark tied it up 1-1. WestConn scored less than a minute later, but Wright tallied her 68th of the season at the 12:11 mark to once again make it a tie game at 2-2. The homestanding Wolves dropped in three straight scores for a 5-2 advantage, but it was Wright once again who pulled it to within two (5-3) with 7:47 to go in the opening quarter.
Despite the momentum, the Wolves went on to score five straight, heading into the second quarter with a 10-3 lead. Second quarter action belonged to the home team as West Conn dropped in four goals to push their advantage to 17-3.
Following one goal from WestConn in the third, the Corsairs came out firing in the fourth as Wright scored three straight goals, including her season-record setting 72nd of the year to make it an 18-6 score. WestConn tacked on two more tallies to round out the scoring for the final margin.
WestConn was paced by Vicky Gracy, who scored a game-high five goals with a ground ball, a caused turnover and four draw controls. Faye Junge added four goals, while Dominique DeMarsico had three goals with three assists. Colleen Crotty added two goals and three helpers, while Alexa Riggio posted three goals. Colleen Foley had a goal with two assists and a game-high six draw controls, as Gina Giambald had a goal and two assists. In goal, Anna Schipf earned the win, playing the opening two quarters. She gave way to Molly Bresnahan, who stopped five shots in the final 30 minutes of action.
For the Corsairs, Wright finished with a game-high five goals, adding a game-best six draw controls. Thomas had the other tally, while Sanchez Alvarez had four ground balls, a game-high four caused turnovers and four draw controls. Senior goalie
Payton Conceicao recorded seven saves in the loss for UMD.
The Corsairs return to action on Friday, traveling to Eastern Connecticut for a 7:30pm game against the Warriors.
