Box Score Huskies Get First LEC Win, Improve to 6-5 Overall
GORHAM, Maine -- The University of Southern Maine men's lacrosse team outscored visiting Salem State University 5-0 in the second half to overcome a one-goal halftime deficit and post an 11-7 victory in Little East Conference action Wednesday afternoon at Hannaford Field.
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Huskies and improved their record to 6-5 overall and 1-3 on conference play. The Vikings dropped their fifth straight game to fall to 5-7 overall and remain winless in four conference outings.
USM scored four goals in the first 5:33 of the third quarter to erase a 7-6 Viking advantage and take a 10-7 lead. From that point, the game settled into a defensive battle as USM sophomore goalie Zach Bessette (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) and SSU sophomore Kevin Lally (Beverly, Mass.) slammed the door.
Sophomore defender Sam Hornblower (Portland, Maine/Deering) ignited the Huskies third-quarter outburst with his second goal of the game just 23 seconds into the quarter. Junior Seth Wing (West Gardiner, Maine) gave the Huskies the lead for good with 12:52 left in the quarter. Senior Jeff Urmston (Bellingham, Mass.) and sophomore Nate DelGiudice (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) added goals by the 9:27 mark to give the Huskies a 10-7 lead.
The first half was an ebb and flow of spurts by each team. Wing and DelGiudice gave the home side a 2-0 advantage five minutes into the game. Rookie David Dempsey (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored a pair of goals 1:48 apart for the Vikings to tie the game.
The tie lasted all of 28 seconds until Hornblower scored his first goal of the season. After a Salem State penalty, senior Austin Watts (Westbrook, Maine) fired home a man-up goal to make it 4-2.
Freshman Thomas Lyons (Burlington, Mass.) scored a man-up goal at 2:53 for the Vikings to cut the margin to one, but Urmston responded at 1:21 to restore the Huskies' two-goal lead.
Junior Alex Stokowski (North Hampton, Mass.) scored with five seconds remaining in the quarter to make it 5-4 after 15 minutes.
The Vikings tied the game 5-5 early in the second quarter on a goal by senior Alex Pearson (Burlington, Mass.). Senior Eddie Barrasso (Wilmington, Mass.) restored the lead to the Huskies at 4:57.
Senior Ben Melaugh (Billerica, Mass.) tallied a man-up goal, and Pearson scored his second goal with 20 seconds to play till halftime to give Salem State its only lead in the game.
Urmston led Southern Maine scoring three times. Wing, DelGiudice and Hornblower each had two goals and one assist. Bessette made 11 saves to earn his third win of the season.
Dempsey and Pearson had two goals apiece to lead the Vikings. Melaugh had a goal and one assist, and junior Steve Hanley (Waltham, Mass.) picked up two assists. Lally stopped seven shots.
Southern Maine had a 40-34 edge in shots attempted and a huge 45-18 advantage in ground balls. USM freshman Josh Murphy (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) had a big day at the center dot winning 17 of 21 faceoffs.
The Huskies hit the road this weekend traveling to Western Connecticut State University for a Little East Conference match on Saturday (12:00 p.m.). Salem State will host the University of Massachusetts Boston on Saturday (5:30 p.m.) for a Little East game.
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