Eastern Connecticut Shoots Past Women's Lacrosse

Mansfield, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team connected on its first three shots and the Warriors used that quick start as a springboard to a 17-3 non-conference decision over Framingham State University Tuesday afternoon at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

The win for Eastern (7-4) in the first series match with Framingham (6-4) is the fifth in a row for the Warriors, a winning streak which surpasses the season win totals of both 2014 and 2015. The loss snaps Framingham's four-game win streak and is the team's first loss this year on its opponent's home field.

Junior midfielder Paige Schneider (East Lyme) scored twice and sophomore midfielder Maggie Bodington (Stratford) once to quickly put the Warriors in front and Eastern controlled the tempo the rest of the way by forcing 26 turnovers (half of them off failed clears) and limiting Framingham scoring leader Kimmy Foley (Mansfield, MA) to one goal on two shots. The sophomore midfielder entered play averaging 3.5 goals per game (32 goals on the season) and seven shots per contest.

Eastern held the Rams to just 11 shots with junior goalie Taylor Emmerson (Colchester) stopping seven shots and giving up only three goals before freshman Jessica Purick (Riverhead, NY) closed it out with the final four shutout minutes.

Schneider totaled a career-high six goals off seven shots to improve her team-leading total to 29 but was only one of eight players to contribute a goal or assist. Burke contributed three goals and an assist and Bodington chipped in three goals. Freshman attack Erin Sheehan (North Branford) stuck her first career goal inside the final three minutes and sophomore attack Allison Wylie (Ellington) had two assists on the afternoon.

Bodington helped the Warriors win 15 of 22 draws by capturing four, with four additional teammates corralling two each.

With Framingham down 4-0, Foley's only goal of the match ten minutes into play got the Rams on the board, but the Rams went 18 minutes before finding the net again and 22 minutes before scoring their third goal with ten minutes left.

Framingham freshman Indigo Fox Tree-McGrath (Bedford, MA) stopped four shots over the first 30 minutes and departed with her team on the short end of an 8-2 score.  Senior Alysha Cericola (Waltham, MA) turned away five shots in the second half.

Eastern returns to Little East Conference play Saturday with a 1 p.m. start at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The Rams host UMass Dartmouth on Thursday afternoon in a non-conference contest slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.