Box Score LEWISTON, Maine – Senior Nicole Santosuosso (Canton, Mass.) broke through for the game-winning goal in the 23rd minute to lead the Bates College Bobcats to a 2-0 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a non-conference field hockey game Tuesday evening in Lewiston, Maine.
Bates improves to 4-6 with the win and stops a two-game losing streak. The Huskies suffer their third straight loss and second consecutive loss without a goal to fall to 5-10 on the season.
Despite constant pressure on the Huskies back line, with a remarkable 37-5 edge in shots, it took Bates until the 23rd minute to net its first goal as Santosuosso redirected a pass from senior Laura Baran (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Shady Side Academy) for her second goal of the season. Bates took the 1-0 lead into the half, having outshot USM 18-3 in the opening half.
The Bobcats wasted little time tacking on an insurance goal in the second half as junior Polly Merck (Beverly Farms, Mass./The Governor's Academy) scored an unassisted goal just 25 seconds into the second stanza. Merck's goal was her fifth of the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Cristina Vega (Needham, Mass./Dana Hall) made one save to earn the shutout victory for the Bobcats. USM junior goalkeeper Kayla Kennedy (Windham, Maine) made 14 saves in the loss.
Bates hosts Connecticut College on Saturday (12:00 p.m.) in a NESCAC game. Southern Maine travels to Framingham State for a Little East Conference match-up on Saturday (4:00 p.m.).
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