Southern Maine Falls to St. Joseph's (Me.) 10-8

            GORHAM, Maine -- The visiting St. Joseph's College (Me.) Monks used a five-goal run in the middle third of the second half to erase a three-goal deficit and went on to defeat the University of Southern Maine Huskies 10-8 in a non-conference women's lacrosse game Saturday afternoon at Hannaford Field.

            The win was the second straight for the Monks, and improves their overall mark to 3-1.  The Huskies fall back to .500 on the season at 1-1.

            Tied 5-5 at intermission, the Huskies scored the first three goals of the second half to take an 8-5 advantage.  Freshmen Jena Leckie (South Portland, Maine) and Amanda Crowley (South Yarmouth, Mass./Tilton School) combined with sophomore Rachel Shanks (Naples, Maine/Lake Region) to score goals to give USM the three-goal advantage with 20:24 remaining.

            The Monks responded with five goals in a span of 9:05 to erase the deficit and take a 10-8 lead with 10:29 to play.  Sophomore Molly Barr (Gorham, Maine) and senior Maddy Beaulieu (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) combined on the first goal.  Beaulieu pulled the Monks within one with an unassisted goal.  Sophomore Logan Champlin (Alfred, Maine/Massabesic) tallied the next two goals to put the Monks ahead for the first time in the  game, 9-8.  Barr and Beaulieu combined again for what proved to be the final goal of the game with 10:29 to play.

            Neither side could find the net over the remainder of the game as SJC sophomore goalie Madelyn Nelson (Casco, Maine/Lake Region) and USM junior Mariah Vaillancourt (Lewiston, Maine/Edward Little) turned aside every bid.  Nelson made 16 saves in the game to earn her third win of the season, while Vaillancourt stopped 11 shots at the other end.

            Barr led all scorers with four goals.  Beaulieu had three goals and a pair of assists for a five-point game.  Champlin had three goals as those three players combined for all 10 SJC goals.

            Leckie and Crowley led the Huskies as each tallied a pair goals.  Sophomore Evelyn Hinkley (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) had a goal and two assists.

            Southern Maine hits the road for the first time this season traveling to Bates College for a non-conference game on Tuesday (5 p.m.).  St. Joseph's is back in action tomorrow morning (11 a.m.) hosting the University of Maine at Farmington.

-ble-