BIDDEFORD, Maine – The University of Southern Maine women's lacrosse team opened the 2023 season on the road Tuesday evening with an 8-7 loss to the University of New England. Three Huskies scored twice in the contest including junior
Kiaya Gatchell (Portland, Maine/Deering) and sophomore
Anna Byers (Milford, Ct./ Joseph A. Foran) who each scored a pair of free position goals.
When and Where: February 21, 2023 – Biddeford, Maine – Blue Bolt Field
The Records: UNE: 1-0; Southern Maine: 0-1
The Goalies:
USM: Cece Racine: 0-1, five saves, eight goals allowed, .385 save percentage.
UNE: Maria Turriza: 1-0, eight saves, seven goals allowed, .533 save percentage.
How It Happened:
- Emily Jacobs scored a free position goal early in the first quarter to put the Nor'easters ahead 1-0 before junior Jillian Nichols (Gorham, Maine) tied the game for the Huskies.
- UNE broke the tie less than a minute later and added another goal to take a 3-1 lead.
- In the second quarter the Nor'easters scored another man-up goal but the Huskies cut the lead to 4-3 with Byers scoring twice on free position attempts in the final three minutes. The first goal from Byers came with a man up while her second was scored with the Huskies down a player.
- UNE scored three times in the first half of the third quarter but the Huskies once again stayed within striking distance thanks to a pair of goals from graduate student Rachel Shanks (Naples, Maine/Lake Region) late in the quarter.
- In the final frame the hosts extended the lead to 8-5 but Gatchell scored a free position goal two minutes later and then netted another to make the score 8-7 with 6:10 left on the clock.
- The Huskies applied pressure but could not even the score and saw their comeback attempt expire.
Inside The Stats:
- The Huskies outshot UNE 20-15 and had a slight 15-13 shots on goal advantage.
- The turnovers were nearly even with UNE committing one more than the Huskies at 25-24.
- Five of the Southern Maine free position shots resulted in goals while the Nor'easters scored on three of their five.
- Gatchell caused three turnovers and tied for the team lead in ground balls with three. Shanks and graduate student Payton Winslow (Auburn, Maine/St. Anthony's) also recorded three ground balls and each caused two turnovers.
- Sophomore Lilly Weinrich (Yarmouth, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy) also scooped up three ground balls.
Up Next: The Huskies will play Smith College on the road on Saturday at 1PM.
-rwd-