Field Hockey Falls to Southern Maine, 4-0

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The University of Southern Maine field hockey team scored four second-half goals, including three in the fourth quarter, as the visiting Huskies posted a 4-0 shutout victory over Bridgewater State University in a Little East Conference (LEC) matchup on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The Huskies improve to 4-4 on the season and 2-1 in the Little East, while the host Bears fall to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Southern Maine now holds a 29-13-2 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1976.

After a tightly defended first half in which the two teams combined for just nine shots, Southern Maine dominated play over the final 30 minutes. The Huskies outshot the Bears 32-0 over the last two quarters and took all nine penalty corners.

Freshman forward Sage Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine) snapped a scoreless tie with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Drinkwater tucked home the rebound of an Elizabeth Gonyea (Rindge, N.H.) shot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Sophomore forward Hannah Banks (Belfast, Maine) tapped in the rebound of her own shot off a scramble in front of the net four minutes into the fourth quarter to extend the USM lead to 2-0.

Less than two minutes later, freshman forward Abigail Chartier (Lewiston, Maine) scored her first collegiate goal as she rapped in a backhander off a short crossing pass from sophomore forward Olivia Lambert (Saco, Maine) to make it a 3-0 game.

Chartier put the finishing touches on the Southern Maine victory with just over four minutes left to play. Freshman defender Jaigan Boudreau (Dayton, Maine) set up the scoring strike as she collected the rebound of her own shot and slipped a pass to Chartier who was left unattended on the right side of the cage. Chartier calmy tapped the ball into the wide open net for her second goal of the contest.

USM finished with a 38-3 shot advantage for the game as well as a 13-1 edge in penalty corners.

Southern Maine junior goalkeeper Julianna Kiklis (York, Maine) was forced to make just two saves, both in the first half, as she notched her first shutout of the season.

BSU freshman netminder Emily Ronan (North Billerica, Mass.) turned aside a career high 21 shot with 19 of those saves this coming in the second half.

The Little East schedule continues for both teams on Tuesday. The Bears travel to Fitchburg State University for a four o'clock game with the Falcons, while the Huskies entertain the Lady Vikings of Salem State University at seven.