Junior midfielder James Krieg (Port Jefferson, New York) erupted for a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists to lead the top-seeded Western Connecticut State University men’s lacrosse team to a 20-3 victory over visiting fifth-seeded Plymouth State in the semifinal round of the Little East Conference Championship tournament on Thursday evening at the Westside Athletic Complex. The Wolves will host second-seeded Massachusetts Maritime in the LEC Championship game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

WestConn jumped all over the Panthers and led wire-to-wire. Graduate student attack Michael Zapatka (Newington) drew first blood less than two minutes into the contest when he buried his 24th marker of the season. The hosts would lead 6-0 to end the opening quarter. The barrage continued in the second. Senior middie Tristan McMahon (Farmingville, New York) tickled the twine with his second goal of the contest, stretching the gap to 12-0. Plymouth State finally got on the board when Brady Hunt scored shortly before the break. McMahon quickly countered to completed the hat trick, upping his season goal scoring total to 43, setting the count at 13-1 at halftime.

It was the same story in the second half as the Panthers could not rally. WestConn senior midfielder Max Shapiro (Hicksville, New York) rounded the flurry out at 20-3 when he took a feed from classmate Brady Francis (Middletown, New York) and connected with the back of the net.

Rookie faceoff specialist Chase Canfora (East Islip, New York) won 11-of-16 at the X, while sophomore netminder Jake Kelly (Bethpage, New York) turned aside six shots for the Wolves. It marked the first LEC Tournament semifinal matchup between the two squads. Plymouth State has now lost three straight to the Wolves. Their last victory came in the 2024 LEC Final when they downed the Wolves 16-10. WestConn has not lost to an LEC team since, winning their last 19 contests over a two-year span.

The Wolves edged Mass. Maritime 11-9 earlier this season. The Mariners took care of third-seeded UMass Boston, 15-10, in the other semi-final matchup on Thursday evening setting up the 2026 LEC Final.