FROM AN EASTERN CONNECTICUT RELEASE

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Two of the top offensive players in the Little East Conference played roles in their respective team's goals Saturday when the Eastern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University women's soccer teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw at Thomas Nevers Field.

Junior forwards Emily Becher (Brooklyn) of Eastern (7-2-1, 2-0-1 LEC) and Autumn Sorice (Bethel) of Western had a hand when their teams scored five minutes apart as last year's LEC regular-season champion (Eastern) and playoff titlist Western (6-4-2, 1-1-1 LEC) tied.

Ranked No. 7 in New England and No. 1 in the LEC pre-season poll,  Eastern is 7-2-2 against the Colonials in the last 11 meetings. Eastern has now gone 14 straight LEC regular-season games without a loss (13-0-1).

All-Region forward Becher, last year's LEC goal leader with 15,  gave the Warriors a brief lead with ten minutes left in the first half when she scored her sixth goal of the season from the right side with a perfect touch on a shot which rolled inside the left post on a feed from sophomore All-America defender Maggie Bodington (Stratford).

Sorice, last year's LEC Offensive Player-of-the-Year, set up sophomore Paige Martin's (Cromwell) first goal of the season five minutes later, with Martin's game-tying blast from the right side of the net just behond the dive of Eastern sophomore keeperKayla Labrecque (Westhampton, MA).

 Eastern remains unbeaten in the conference but falls two points behind LEC leader Keene State (3-0-0), when blasted Plymouth State University, 5-0, Saturday. Western shares third place in the conference with Rhode Island College, both teams with four points. Rhode Island has a game in hand, however, as its home contest with UMass Dartmouth Saturday was postponed due to wet field conditions.

Each team had at least two ideal scoring changes in the second half and overtime but could not convert. Western came within an inch of the winning goal 90 seconds into overtime when freshman midfielder Bailey Julian (Simsbury) took a feed from Sorice on the left side and drilled a line drive which hit the far right post, then settled in the arms of Labrecque just shy of the goal line. Less than a minute later, Eastern senior midfielder Hailey Lehning (Woodbury)  send one of her game-high five shots inches wide of the far right post. Three minutes later, Lehning made a run up the middle and sent a pass to Becher, who was beaten to the ball by a charging Western junior keeper Jillian Fernandez (Columbia).

In the second half, Western couldn't capitalize on two prime chance a minute apart to take the lead. On the first, Sorice found junior midfielder Andrea DeVoe (Farmington) with space on the left flank. DeVoe took Sorice's cross from the right side in stride, and with a step on her closest defender, ripped a low shot just wide of the right post. Soon after, DeVoe sent junior midfielder Brooke Hellman (Newington) a crossing pass from the right side, and her blast also sailed just wide of the right post.

Labrecque made five saves to improve her record to 5-1-1 and help the Warriors stretch their unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) overall and to three (2-0-1) at home. Fernandez, who was shook up twice after collisions – the second time with 12 minutes left in regulation – made three saves.

Eastern hosts Endicott College Wednesday at 7 p.m.