GORHAM, Maine – Maddie Hunt (Littleton, Mass.) led seven players in scoring as the Plymouth State Panthers handed the University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's lacrosse team their first conference loss of the season on Tuesday afternoon in Gorham. The Huskies' were led by an impressive performance in goal from Cece Racine (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) and two goals from Kate Colvin (Winchester, Mass./Governor's Academy).

When and Where: Tuesday, April 19 – University of Southern Maine – Hannaford Field

Score: Plymouth State 9, Southern Maine 5

History: This was the 32nd matchup between the two teams. The Panthers now lead the series 29-3.

The Records: Southern Maine: 9-4, 3-1 LEC ; Plymouth State 10-3, 4-0 LEC

The Goaltenders: 
Southern Maine: 
Racine: 16 saves, .640 save percentage

Plymouth State:
Piper Sherbert (Freeport, Maine): six saves, .545 save percentage

How It Happened/Inside the Box Score: 
-Going into today's contest, both the Huskies and the Panthers were part of a three-way tie for first place in the Little East Conference.

-Knowing what was on the line, both teams came out of the gate and played a hard-fought and even first quarter. The Panthers opened up scoring after a full seven minutes of scoreless play and scored back to back goals from Emily Santom (Litchfield, N.H.) and Julia Mahoney (Stratford, Conn.).

-With 1:25 left in the first quarter, Colvin scored her first goal of the game to cut the Panthers' lead in half. 

-The second quarter is where the Panthers were able to pull ahead and stay ahead for the rest of the game. Plymouth State out-scored the Huskies 6-2 in the second quarter on two goals from Hunt and goals from Julia Donovon (Antrim, N.H.), Sarah Schartner (Plymouth, N.H.), Devon Mello (Laconia, N.H.), and Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.). The Huskies got goals from Rachel Shanks (Naples, Maine/Lake Region) and Jennifer Darasz (Gorham, Maine/Gorham). 

-Both defense came out of the half on a mission as neither team was able to score in the third quarter. Racine stood tall for the Huskies and made eight saves in the third quarter alone.

-Plymouth State took a 9-3 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Huskies had two man-up opportunities in the last five minutes of play and began to mount a comeback. 

-Colvin and Kiaya Gatchell (Portland, Maine/Deering) both scored, but two goals was all the Huskies' offense had time for and the game ended 9-5 in favor of the Panthers. 

-The Panthers out-shot the Huskies 28-17 and turned the ball over 18 times to the Huskies 27 times.

Up Next: The Huskies will travel to Keene State this Saturday for a conference matchup on April 23 at noon.