GORHAM, Maine – The fourth-seeded University of Southern Maine women's lacrosse team will host the fifth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State Warriors in the quarterfinals of the Little East Conference tournament on Tuesday, May 3 on Hannaford Field. The game is slated to begin at 6pm.
When and Where: Tuesday, May 3 – University of Southern Maine – Hannaford Field
History: This is the 28th matchup between the two teams. The Warriors currently lead the series 18-9, with Southern Maine winning the most recent three contests.
The Records: Southern Maine: 10-6 , 4-3 LEC ; Eastern Connecticut: 8-7, 3-4 LEC
Inside the Stats:
Southern Maine currently leads the conference defensively with just 121 goals allowed in 16 games, for an average of 7.6 goals per game. Eastern Connecticut has allowed 179 goals over 15 games, or 11.93 goals per game. However, Eastern Connecticut is averaging 13.78 goals per game to the Huskies 12.38.
The combined goalkeeping team of Cece Racine (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) and Lydia Laslavic (Thomaston, Maine/Oceanside) have posted the best save percentage in the league, stopping 55.4% of the shots they have faced. The Warriors' team of goalkeepers has a combined save percentage of .363.
Preview:
The Huskies and Warriors met in early April for a key conference game played at Eastern Connecticut State. The Huskies jumped out to an early four goal lead and were able to hang on and take down the Warriors 11-9. This head-to-head victory ended up being crucial as the Huskies gained the four seed in the conference tournament over Eastern Connecticut and will get home field advantage.
This season, the Huskies' offense has been led by the goal-scoring duo of Rachel Shanks (Naples, Maine/Lake Region) and Kate Colvin (Winchester, Mass./Governor's Academy). Shanks is second in the conference and first on the team with 58 goals on the year, while Colvin has 42.
Kiaya Gatchell (Portland, Maine/Deering) and
Jillian Nichols (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) lead the team in assists, with 16 and 15 each.
Caroline Stent (Weatogue, Conn.) and Chloe Miller (Avon, Conn.) lead scoring for the Warriors with 50 and 38 goals on the year. Shay Ventresca (Oakdale, Conn.) has 28 goals and 31 assists.
Defensively, Maeve McGarrity (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) leads the Huskies with 26 caused turnovers while teammates Rhiannon McQuaide (Wells, Maine/Wells) and Payton Winslow (Auburn, Maine/St. Anthony's) have 21 ground balls each and thirteen and twelve caused turnovers, respectively.
