Southern Maine Falls to Eastern Connecticut in LEC Opener 17-13

Sophomore Allison Irish (white jersey), seen here against UMass Dartmouth last year, had five goals against Eastern Connecticut (file photo by Jason Johns).

Huskies Travel to Husson on Monday

            GORHAM, Maine -- The Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team outscored the University of Southern Maine 5-1 over the final 11 minutes of regulation time to take a 17-13 victory in the teams' Little East Conference opener Friday afternoon at Hannaford Field.

            The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Warriors and improved their overall mark to 2-5.  The Huskies had their two-game winning streak stopped and fell to 3-3 overall.

            In a game that went back and forth from the opening whistle, Southern Maine rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the game 12-12 with 12:31 to play on goals 12 seconds apart from sophomores Allison Irish (Lyman, Maine/Massabesic) and Melissa Huot (Biddeford, Maine).

            The tie lasted until senior Jenna Glynn (West Granby, Conn./Granby Memorial) converted a feed from sophomore Tristan Kijak (Windsor, Conn.) at 11:00.  Glynn gave the Warriors a two-goal lead 36 seconds later scoring her third goal of the game off an assist from senior Maggie Bodington (Stratford, Conn.).

            Rookie Alex Farley (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) pulled the Huskies within one (14-13) with 9:06 to play, but the Warriors were able to pull away in the final six minutes converting three free-position attempts, including two from junior Michelina Pinto (Groton, Conn./R.E. Fitch).

            In the opening half, both sides had the lead but could not pull away.  USM too its biggest lead (6-3) on a goal from Irish with 11:27 remaining in the half, but the Warriors closed the gap to one (7-6) by the intermission with a 3-1 run.

            The Warriors opened the second half with goals from senior Katie Burke (South Windsor, Conn./East Catholic) and Bodington in the first five minutes to take their first lead since being up 2-1.   The Huskies chased the game over the next 13 minutes tying the score on two occasions, the last time on Huot's goal.

            Pinto scored a game-high five goals and dished off one assist to lead the Warriors' attack.  Glynn added three goals and two assists, and sophomore Alyssa Powers (Ellington, Conn.) had three goals.  Burke contributed two goals and three assists.  Junior goalie Jessica Purick (Riverhead, N.Y.) recorded seven saves to earn her second win of the season.

            Irish matched Pinto with five goals for the Huskies.  Farley added four markers and junior Aliza Jordan (Gorham, Maine) chipped in with two goals and an assist.  Junior goalkeeper Hala Van Nostrand (Granby, Conn.) stopped eight shots.

            The visitors had a 33-25 edge in shots and a 21-18 advantage in the battle for ground balls.  USM had a 17-15 lead in draw controls led by junior Colleen Fleming (South Portland, Maine) who had a career-high 10.

            Southern Maine is back in action on Monday (4 p.m.) traveling to Husson University for a non-conference game.  Eastern Connecticut travels to Worcester State University for a non-conference game on Tuesday (4 p.m.).

Recap, photo courtesy of University of Southern Maine.