Couture Nets Huskies' Lone Goal

            WORCESTER, Mass. -- Five different players scored goals as the Holy Cross Crusaders pulled away from the visiting University of Southern Maine Huskies for a 5-1 win Friday afternoon in an ECAC Women's East game at the Hart Center.

            The win was the second straight, and fourth in the last five games, for the Crusaders who improved to 11-4-1 overall and 7-1-0 in league play.  The Huskies dropped their second straight to slip to 4-11-1 overall and 2-6-1 in the league.

            Seniors Mary Klimasewiski (Cochester, Conn.), Kate Reilly (Natick, Mass.) and Nicole Giannino (Bay Shore, N.Y.), freshman Emily Lissner (Woburn, Mass.) and junior Mackenzie Boardman (Anchorage, Alaska) all tallied goals for Holy Cross.

            Senior goalie Alexandra Stevenson (Norwood, N.Y.) stopped 18 shots in the Crusader goal to earn her sixth win of the season.

            Sophomore Katie Couture (Harrisville, R.I.) scored the Huskies lone goal converting an assist from senior Julia Pearl (Essex Jct., Vt.) at 6:44 of the second period.  The goal was Couture's team-leading seventh of the season, and came just 26 seconds after Klimasewiski had given the home side a 1-0 lead.

            Lissner scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 10:56 after taking a feed from rookie Lauren Abbenante (Cranston, R.I.).  Boardman added a power-play marker in the final minute of the period to give the Crusaders a 3-1 lead heading into the final period.

            Reilly and Giannino added unassisted goals in the first seven minutes of the third period to put the game away.

            USM senior goalie Liz Bergstrom (Chanhassen, Minn.) stopped 34 shots as Holy Cross piled up a 39-19 edge in shots on goal.

            Southern Maine is off until next Friday (4:00 p.m.) when it travels to the University of New England.  Holy Cross heads to Saint Anselm College tomorrow (1:00 p.m.) for an ECAC Women's East game. 

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