GORHAM, Maine   –  Recently claiming the 2023 Little East Conference Regular Season Championship, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's soccer team is ranked third in the second (and most recent) NCAA Division III Region 1 Poll.
 
Consistently in the top eight of the United Soccer Coaches' Region 1 Rankings (USC poll of coaches in the region) since September 26, the Huskies are 12-1-4 overall and 5-0-2 in the Little East Conference.   Claiming the 2023 regular season title with a 3-2 win over Western Connecticut this past Saturday, the Huskies are now back-to-back Little East Conference Regular Season Champions, winning both the tournament and regular season titles in 2022. The NCAA Regional Rankings are done by the same regional and national committees which will make the at-large selections for the NCAA tournament and the rankings are done by applying the same criteria that is used for making the at-large selections.

Unbeaten at home this season at 8-0 and 4-1-4 on the road, the Huskies' have outscored their opponents 41-11 this season, shutting out their opponents 11 times.  Over the course of the Huskies' 2023 season, Southern Maine amassed a program-record 16-game (12-0-4) unbeaten streak. 
 
The Huskies are 2-0-1 against NCAA regionally ranked opponents in 2023.  Southern Maine is ranked third behind Amherst College (12-1-1) and Williams (9-2-3). Tufts (7-3-4), Bowdoin (7-3-4), Wesleyan (Conn.) (7-3-4) and Hamilton (8-4-3) round out the rest of the Region 1 ranked programs.  

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NCAA Regional Rankings (through games October 22)
NCAA Division III Region 1

1. Amherst (12-1-1)
2. Williams (9-2-3)
3. Southern Maine (12-0-4)
4. Tufts (7-3-4)
5. Bowdoin (7-3-4)
6. Wesleyan (7-3-4)
7. Hamilton (8-4-3)

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Offensively, the Huskies are led by 2022 LEC Offensive Player of the Year senior Catriona Gould (Freeport, Maine) and 2022 LEC Rookie of the Year Julia McKenna (Windham, Maine).  Gould has 12 goals and two assists for a team-leading 26 points, while McKenna has seven goals and six assists for 20 points.  Sophomore Riley Rietchel (Palermo, Maine/Erskine Academy) and senior Eliza Roy (Camden, Maine/Camden Hills) have five goals and eight assists, and six goals and three assists respectively.
 
Named the LEC Goalkeeper of the Week three times this season, senior Breanna Atwood (Franklin, Mass.) has nine shutouts to her credit this season, and has a program-record 24 in her career.  She has a .876 save percentage and a 0.66 goals against average in 17 games this season. 
 
Solidifying the Huskies' backline, senior center backs Mia Sargent (Portland, Maine/Deering) and Sarah Lowell (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) have been named the LEC Defensive Player of the Week three times and two times each respectively.  Sargent, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year in the Little East, has helped lead the Huskies defense to a conference best 0.43 goals against average this season and limited its opponents to just 89 shots on goal. Sargent, Lowell, and junior Kiki Huntress (Kittery Point, Maine/Traip Academy) have each earned weekly honors this season from the Little East for their outstanding defensive play.
 
Securing the Little East Conference regular season championship for the second consecutive season, the Huskies will be the top seed in the 2023 LEC Championship Tournament.  The Huskies close out their regular season on the road at non-conference opponent No. 25 University of Hartford on Wednesday (4:00 pm) and at LEC opponent VTSU-Castleton on Saturday (1:00 pm). Southern Maine will have a first round bye for the LEC tournament and will host a semifinal game on Thursday, November 2 (time and opponent TBA).