Box Score Huskies Outscore the Panthers 7-2 in the Final 30 Minutes
GORHAM, Maine -- The University of Southern Maine men's lacrosse team scored twice in the opening minute of the third quarter to snap a 6-6 tie and went on to defeat Plymouth State University 13-8 in a Little East Conference game Tuesday afternoon at Hannaford Field.
The win was the fourth in the last five games for the Huskies and leveled their overall record at 7-7. The Huskies improved their conference mark to 4-2 to move another step closer to securing a home field berth in the upcoming LEC playoffs. The Panthers dropped to 6-9 overall with their third straight loss, and 3-3 in the conference.
Deadlocked at 6-6 after 30 minutes, the Huskies received goals from freshman Steve Gilbert (Litchfield, Maine/Oak Hill) and senior Sam Fortin (Brunswick, Maine) in the opening minute of the third quarter to assume command.
Sophomore Thomas Kelly (Chantilly, Va.) pulled PSU within one just over three minutes later. The game took on a defensive tone for the next nine minutes as neither team was able to find the net until USM scored twice in the final minute.
Freshman Joe Cullinan (Contoocook, N.H./Hopkinton) tallied a goal with 49 seconds remaining, and sophomore Tristan Dundas (Abbotsford, B.C.) found the net at the buzzer after taking a feed from junior Paul Leonardo (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable) to make it 10-7 after three quarters.
Rookie Connor Delea (Manchester, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) kept the Panthers' hopes for a comeback alive scoring off a feed from sophomore Griffin Jacobson (Windham, Maine) to make it 10-8.
Southern Maine put the game away scoring three times in a span of 1:54, the final two 15 seconds apart from Leonard and freshman Cam Thibault (Scarborough, Maine).
Dundas led all scorers with five goals and one assist for a six-point day. Senior Nate DelGiudice (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) had a goal and three assists. Thibault had two goals as USM got goals from eight different players in the game. Senior goalie Zach Bessette (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) made 12 saves to earn his seventh win of the season.
Jacobson paced the Panthers' offense with two goals and two assists for four points. Delea finished with two goals and one assist, and Kelly had two goals. Junior goalie Zel Kerkel (Loudon, N.H.) made 11 saves.
Both teams took 41 shots in the game, and Plymouth State had a slim 36-33 edge in the battle for ground balls.
Southern Maine closes the 2018 regular season this Friday (5 p.m.) playing at Keene State College. Plymouth State hosts the University of Massachusetts Boston, also on Friday (4 p.m.).
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