GORHAM, Maine – As part of a record breaking season, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's soccer team finished the 2022 regular season as the Little East Conference Regular Season Champion, claiming the no. 1 seed for the upcoming LEC Tournament Championship. As the top-seed headed into the tournament, the Huskies receive a first round bye and will host a semifinal on Thursday, November 3 (tba).
Finishing the 2022 Little East Conference regular season with a record of 7-1, the Huskies' regular season championship is the first in program history. The Huskies (15-3 overall) set a program record for wins in a season, goals in a season (60), and shutouts in a season (11).
Quarterfinal action for the 2022 LEC women's soccer tournament begins on Tuesday, November 1. No. 3 UMass Boston (8-8-2, 5-3 LEC) hosts No. 6 Keene State (10-8-2, 3-5 LEC) at 1 pm in the first quarterfinal game, while No. 4 Castleton (7-10-1, 4-3-1 LEC) hosts No. 5 Eastern Connecticut (6-5-5, 3-2-3 LEC) at 7 pm. The winner of the Castleton vs. Eastern Connecticut game will advance to the semifinal to face Southern Maine.
The Huskies hosted Castleton University on September 17 in their first LEC contest of the 2022 season and defeated the Spartans 4-0. Junior
Catriona Gould (Freeport, Maine) and sophomore
Julia McKenna (Windham, Maine) each had a brace for the Huskies, while junior goalkeeper
Breanna Atwood (Franklin, Mass.) made six saves to earn the shutout.
USM faced Eastern Connecticut on the road in its second LEC contest of the season earning a 1-0 win over the Warriors on September 24. Gould had the game-winner for the Huskies in the 16
th minute. Atwood made four saves in the shutout win. The Huskies outshot ECSU 12-6 in the contest, and had a 5-3 lead in corner kicks.
2022 Little East Conference Championship
Who: No. 1 Southern Maine vs. Winner of No. 4 Castleton vs. No. 5 Eastern Connecticut
When: Thursday, November 3, 2022 (TBA)
Where: University of Southern Maine, Gorham, Maine – Hannaford Field
What: 2022 Little East Conference Women's Soccer Championship Tournament Semifinal
No. 1 Southern Maine (15-3, 7-1 LEC)
Championships: 0
LEC Tournament Record: 5-11-0 (.312), 11 appearances
Finals Appearances: 0
Finals Record: 0-0
Last Finals Appearance: NA
Players to Watch: Catriona Gould, Jr., F, 19 g, 6 a, 44 pts, 5 game-winning goals;
Julia McKenna, So, M, 11 g, 2 a, 24 pts, 2 game-winning goals;
Ciera Berthiaume, Gr, F, 7 g, 3 a, 17 pts, 2 game-winning goals;
Gaby Panagakos, Gr., F, 5 g, 7 a, 17 pts, 2 game-winning goals,
Mia Sargent, Jr, D, 2 g, 1 a, 5 pts,
Kiki Huntress, So., DM, 1 g, 2 a, 4 pts.
Goalkeeping: Bre Atwood, Jr.,.(14-3), 0.75 GAA, .859 save percentage, 10 shutouts
Potential Opponents:
No. 5 Eastern Connecticut (6-5-5, 3-2-2 LEC))
Championships: 4 (2003, 2005, 2009, 2011)
LEC Tournament Record: 14-15-6 (.495), 21 appearances
Finals Appearances: 10
Finals Record: 4-6
Last Finals Appearance: 2017
Players to Watch: Briley Harnois, 6 goals, 12 points, 1 game-winning goal; Katelyn Herbert, 4 goals, 2 assists 10 points, 2 game-winning goals; Hailey Cocca 2 goals, 3 assists, 7 points;
Goalkeeping: Emily Wallace (4-2-4), 0.87 GAA, .893 save percentage, 3 shutouts; Rachel Hughes (2-3-1), 0.88 GAA, .860 save percentage.
Potential Opponents:
No. 4 Castleton (7-10-1, 4-3-1 LEC)
Championships: None
LEC Tournament Record: 2-3
Finals Appearances: 3
Finals Record: 0-0
Last Finals Appearance: None
Players to Watch: Alexis Billings 5 goals, 0 assists, 10 points, Rylee Pepin, 3 goals, 3 assists, 9 points; Brytney Moore, 3 goals, 1 assists, 7 points.
Goalkeeping: Alex Benfatti (7-8-1), 1.31 GAA, .820 save percentage, 2 shutouts.
2022 LEC Championship Field
- Southern Maine (15-3, 7-1 LEC)
- Western Connecticut (12-6-1, 6-1-1 LEC)
- UMass Boston (8-8-2, 5-3 LEC)
- Castleton (7-10-1, 4-3-1 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut (6-5-5, 3-2-3 LEC)
- Keene State (10-8-2, 3-5 LEC)
Southern Maine Athletics has gone to fully digital game programs, please click this link to access the game programs to future Husky home events!
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