GORHAM, Maine  –  Sophomore Abigail Chartier (Lewiston, Maine) redirected in a driven ball from sophomore Sage Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle) in the 28^th minute and freshman Eleanor Folsom (Winthrop, Maine) made a career-high 11 saves to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a key 1-0 win over the Fitchburg State University Falcons in a Little East Conference field hockey game Wednesday night at Hannaford Field.
 
The Huskies have won four straight, and lead the series over UMD 30-11-1.  Moving to 9-1 in Little East Conference play, Southern Maine remains atop the conference standings – one game ahead of Plymouth State, Keene State and Worcester State, who are all 7-2.  USM has a win over Worcester State, and faces PSU and KSC in its final two LEC regular season games.
 
The Records:
Fitchburg State (8-6, 6-3 LEC)
Southern Maine (12-5, 9-1 LEC)
 
How It Happened:

• Both teams had chances in the first quarter, but each team's goalkeeper came up big with a save to keep the game at 0-0 after the first.  Folsom made five first quarter saves for the Huskies as the Falcons strung together a flurry of shots in the seventh and 10^th minutes.
• Falcons' Lena Kessel (Stuttgart, Germany), NCAA Division III's second leading scorer, kept the pressure on in the second quarter as Folsom made a terrific save and Husky senior captain Samantha Ellis (New Vineyard, Maine/Mt. Blue) swept one off of the line in the 21^st minute.  .
• Despite being outshot 4-2 in the second, the Huskies made the most of their opportunities to take a 1-0 lead in the 28^th minute.  Chartier scored her sixth goal of the season, redirecting a driven ball from Drinkwater to beat FSU goalkeeper Jenna Morse (Leominster, Mass./Lunenburg) during the Huskies second penalty corner of the quarter.
• Folsom continued to come up big in the third, stopping another outstanding effort from Kessel, and junior Jordan Cummings (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) kept the Huskies 1-0 lead in check notching her team-leading fifth defensive save of the season in the frame.
• In the fourth, the Huskies played a solid game of possession, with Drinkwater shadowing Kessel, while relying on Folsom to make three more saves for the win.

 
The Goalkeepers:
FSU, Jenna Morse (8-6) 60:00 1 GA, 4 saves
SM, Eleanor Folsom (5-1) 60:00 0 GA, 11 saves
 
Inside The Statistics:

• The win was the Huskies' sixth win via shutout this season. 
• USM is 7-2 at home in 2022.
• Southern Maine is outscoring its opponents 64-30 on the season, and its LEC opponents 48-7.

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine is on the road for a pair of Little East Conference games. The Huskies travel to Keene State on Saturday (1:30 pm) and then head to Plymouth State on Tuesday (6:00 pm).