Box Score Huskies Defeat Nor'easters 3-1
BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Sophomore Katie Couture (Harrisville, R.I.) scored with 3:09 to play to snap a 1-1 tie and the visiting University of Southern Maine Huskies went on to defeat the University of New England Nor'easters, 3-1, in ECAC Women's East action Friday afternoon at the Harold Alfond Forum.
The victory stopped a two-game losing skid for the Huskies, and improved their record to 5-11-1 overall and 3-6-1 in league play. It also gave the Huskies a sweep of the teams' two-game regular-season series. The Nor'easters dropped their third straight game and slipped to 4-11-3 overall and 1-8-1 in the league.
With overtime looming on the horizon, Couture converted a feed from classmate Lynn Kozlowski (Stoneham, Mass.) into her team-leading eighth goal of the season and a 2-1 lead for the Huskies.
USM tacked on an insurance marker in the final seconds when senior Julia Pearl (Essex Jct., Vt.) netted a short-handed, empty-net goal.
The Nor'easters grabbed a 1-0 lead with the only goal of the first period. Sophomore Gabriella Moscato (Wakefield, Mass.) beat USM senior goalie Liz Bergstrom (Chanhassen, Minn.) at the 17:50 mark for her third goal of the season. Classmate Richelle Skarbowski (Orchard Park, N.Y.) picked up the only assist.
Southern Maine scored the equalizer at 7:29 of the second period when junior Kaleigh Heath (Jericho, Vt.) tallied her first goal of the season. Pearl and rookie Mikhaela Schultz (Warren, N.J.) collected the assists.
The game remained tied as Bergstrom and UNE sophomore goalie Sydney Helmbrecht (Grand Rapids, Minn.) kept the offenses at bay from that point until Couture's game-winning score. Bergstrom stopped 17 of the 18 shots she faced while Helmbrecht registered 26 saves before being lifted in the final seconds in favor of the extra attacker.
Southern Maine travels to Henniker, N.H., on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) to play New England College. UNE also heads to the Granite State on Saturday (2:00 p.m.) traveling to Plymouth State University.
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