DANBURY, Conn. – Behind a strong opening half, Western Connecticut State University defeated UMass Dartmouth in the Little East Conference opener for both teams. The Wolves move to 5-2 overall and the Corsairs are now 3-4.
WestConn got things going early as a pair of goals from Madison Ratchford saw the home team up 2-0 at 7:56. Five more goals followed, including the third of the game from Ratchford, giving the Wolves a 7-0 advantage.
In the second quarter, the home team continued to press, scoring six straight goals until a tally from graduate student attack and captain
Emma Terino got UMass Dartmouth on the board. Two more goals followed for WestConn, sending the squads into halftime with the Wolves up 15-1.
Out of the break, the Wolves posted four straight goals until a tally from rookie midfielder
Carleigh Swenson broke up the run. Junior midfielder and captain
Maddy Allen tallied her 24th of the season with just eight seconds left, sending it to the final quarter with a 19-3 score.
In the fourth, the Corsairs tallied three straight at rookie midfielder
Cat Whitehouse netted her ninth of the season, followed by the 25th of the year from Allen at 9:08. Sophomore attack
Abby Pitts scored with 6:48 remaining to cut the deficit to 19-6, but the Wolves tallied their final score with 1:27 remaining for the 20-6 final score.
Allen finished with two goals on seven shots – all on goal – netting four ground balls and a caused turnovers. Whitehouse had a goal with two ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Terino posted a goal with an assist, adding a ground ball and a game-high nine draw controls with a caused turnover.
Sophomore goalie
Keira Bushey posted eight saves over 50:31 minutes of action, while rookie
Irelynn Marshall had one save over 9:29 of relief.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Tuesday, heading to Bridgewater State for a 6pm tilt against the Bears.
