Plymouth State One Ups Fitchburg State, 3-2 (OT)

Kennedy nets first two goals of the season in Falcons loss

PLYMOUTH, N.H. (October 27, 2009) - The Fitchburg State women's soccer team suffered a non-conference loss, falling to Plymouth State University, 3-2 in an overtime battle this evening.

Plymouth State came out firing, rifling off six shots in the opening six minutes. The Panthers took advantage of their opportunities on net, scoring the game's first goal in the 15th minute. Sophomore Catherine Goller (Williston, Vt./Champlain Union) gave Plymouth State an early edge with her first goal of the season, while classmate Sarah Pandiscio (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) and senior Lauren Lavery (Nashua, N.H./Nashua South) added assists on the play.

Lavery gave Plymouth State a 2-0 cushion moments later as the senior midfielder tallied her tenth score of the year. Lavery registered the unassisted marker just 5:35 after the Panthers first score and this capped the first half scoring.

In the second frame, Fitchburg State came alive, registering back-to-back scores to knot the game at 2-2 and force an overtime period. Second-year forward Carissa Kennedy (Somerset, Mass./Bishop Stang) netted both scores for the Falcons, her first two markers of the year. Kennedy opened the second half scoring in the 65th minute off an assist from junior Julie Almstrom (Auburn, Mass./Auburn), before bringing the game to a deadlock in the 80th minute.

In the extra frame, both teams battled for 13 scoreless minutes, before Plymouth State sealed its sixth victory of the season on Julie Benham's (Laconia, N.H./Laconia) game-winning marker. The freshman made her first collegiate goal count and snapped the Panthers seven game winless streak.

Plymouth State out-shot Fitchburg State 23-13 in the contest with a 7-1 advantage in corners. Senior Kyla Batchelder (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) led the Falcons in net, posting seven saves in 103 minutes, while Stephanie Regina (Howell, N.J./Howell) stopped five shots for the Panthers.     

Fitchburg State (4-11-1, 2-4-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it travels to Framingham State College at 10 a.m. Plymouth State (6-8-2, 1-5-0 LEC) will travel to Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Plymouth State 3, Fitchburg State 2 (OT)

Scoring:
First Half: PSU: Catherine Goller (Sarah Pandiscio, Lauren Laverty), 14:45; PSU: Laverty, 21:20;
Second Half: FIT: Carissa Kennedy (Julie Almstrom), 64:16; FIT: Kennedy, 79:43
OT: PSU: Julie Behan, 103:10;
Goaltending: FIT: Kyla Batchelder (90:00), seven saves; PSU: Stephanie Regina (90:00), five saves;
Shots: FIT: 13 ; PSU: 23