Southern Maine Falls to Top-Seeded Plymouth State 19-13

            NEW HAMPTON, N.H. -- The top-seeded Plymouth State University raced out to a 10-2 lead in the opening 20 minutes, then held off fourth-seeded University of Southern Maine for a 19-13 victory Thursday night in a semifinal game of the 2015 Little East Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament.

            The win propels the Panthers into the LEC championship game on Saturday against second-seeded Keene State College.  The Panthers extended their winning streak to nine games and head into the LEC final at 13-3.  The Huskies, who went 7-7 after a 0-5 start, finished the season 7-12.

            Rookie Megan Tingley (Natick, Mass.) and sophomore Caroline Vonachen (Framingham, Mass.) combined for 10 goals, including five during the Panthers' opening blitz.  Tingley finished with seven points on five goals and two assists while Vonachen had five goals.  Sophomore Kaitlyn Wilder (Framingham, Mass.) had three goals and three assists, and senior Shannon Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) had a goal and five assists.  Senior Amy MacDonald (Hull, Mass.) added three goals and two assists.  Senior goalie Casey Curran (Framingham, Mass.) played a big part in the win finishing the game with 17 saves.

            Sophomore Heather Everett (Waterboro, Maine/Massabesic) led the Huskies scoring a career single-game high six goals and dishing out one assist.  Senior Nicole LaPlante (South Portland, Maine) had two goals and one assist while junior Sarah Pelligrinelli (Southington, Conn.) and sophomore Sam Campobasso (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) scored two goal apiece.  Junior goalie Caley Presby (Portland, Maine/Deering) stopped five shots.

            The Panthers scored the first five goals to open up a 5-0 lead 10 minutes into the game.  Five different players scored goals for the Panthers.  Pelligrinelli scored twice 15 seconds apart to get the Huskies on the board before the Panthers went on another five-goal run to take a 10-2 lead.

            The Huskies went on a 4-1 run as Campobasso and Everett each scored twice to get back within five (11-6), but Wilder, Tingley and Vonachen scored in the final two minutes to give the home side a 14-6 edge at halftime.

            Everett scored twice for the Huskies in the opening minute of the second half, but the Panthers scored the next four goals, including two from Vonachen, to open an 18-8 lead.

            The Huskies scored the next four goals to get back within six with 5:37 to play.  Everett had two goals in surge, but time ran out on the Huskies getting any closer.

            Plymouth State dominated the center circle winning 23 of 34 draws.  Senior Molly Gleason (Haverhill, Mass.) led all players with nine draw controls.  Senior Rachel Fistori (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic) had six draw controls.  Senior Julia Pearl (Essex Jct., Vt.) led USM with six draw controls.  Both sides had 34 shots, and USM had a slim 17-16 edge in ground balls. 

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