CASTINE, Maine -- Sophomore Austin Watts (Westbrook, Maine) scored three goals and dished out an assist to lead the University of Southern Maine men's lacrosse team to a 12-9 victory over Maine Maritime Academy in a non-conference game Thursday night at Ritchie Field.

            The win was the first of the season for the Huskies after five consecutive losses and improved their record to 1-5.  The Mariners fell to 1-4 with the loss.

            Junior Burleigh Desjardins (Brunswick, Maine), senior Dylan Kenney (Portland, Maine) and rookie Seth Wing (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) added two goals apiece for the Huskies.  Wing also had an assist.  Freshman Keegan Smith (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) chipped in a goal and an assist.

            Sophomore goalie Ryan Jurgelevich (Portland, Maine) picked up his first collegiate win making 11 saves.

            Junior Nicholas Betti (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Tabor Academy) paced the Mariners with three goals and an assist.  Junior Bronson Guimond (Portland, Maine) added two goals and an assist, and classmate Brady Harrison (Alfred, Maine/Massabesic) had two goals.  Senior Gavin Cote (Arundel, Maine/Biddeford) started in goal for the Mariners and made one save before giving way to sophomore James Wilgus (Phippsburg, Maine/Brunswick) early in the second quarter.  Wilgus had nine saves over the final 44:22.

            The key stretch in the game came late in the second quarter when the Huskies scored five straight goals to erase a two-goal deficit and take an 8-5 advantage into the halftime break.  Desjardins ignited the outburst with his second goal of the game with 5:17 remaining.  Smith, Kenney and Wing blitzed the Mariners for three goals in a span of 46 seconds to give the Huskies a 7-5 lead.  Freshman Tyler Jamison (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) added the final goal with just four ticks remaining before halftime.

            Watts made it six straight USM goals when he found the net, set up by Wing, 56 seconds into the third quarter.  From that point, the teams traded goals over the final 29 minutes.

            The Mariners had grabbed a 5-3 lead when sophomore Justin Lovely (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area), Guimond and Betti scored within a span 43 seconds.  Lovely tied the game with 6:57 remaining.  Guimond gave the home side the lead 22 seconds later, and Betti Made it 5-3 with 6:14 to play.

            Maine Maritime had the edge in shots (49-32) and ground balls (51-36).

            Southern Maine opens Little East Conference play this Saturday (1:00 p.m.) when it hosts preseason favorite Eastern Connecticut State University.  Maine Maritime will entertain Lyndon State College for a North Atlantic Conference game on Saturday (2:00 p.m.). 

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