GORHAM, Maine – Senior Lydia Laslavic (Thomaston, Maine / Oceanside) made 11 saves on Saturday afternoon as the University of Southern Maine women's lacrosse team held off a fourth-quarter surge by Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to escape with a 15-13 win and earn the No. 3 seed in the 2025 Little East Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament. Laslavic picked up her 12th win of the year to set a new program record for wins in a season. Junior Katelyn D'Appolonia (Yarmouth, Maine) scored seven goals for the Huskies to go along with an assist, five ground balls, two caused turnovers, and a game-high 13 draw controls. Her 13 draw controls are tied for the second most in the game in program history.
 
Fifth-year senior Kiaya Gatchell (Portland, Maine/Deering) also had a Senior Day to remember as the midfielder dished out two assists to become the program's all-time leader with 71 in her career. She broke the record of 70 held by Aliza Jordan (2017-19). The remaining two seniors of the Huskies' roster, Elaina Hanselmann (Sanford, Maine) and Anna Byers (Milford, Ct./ Joseph A. Foran), each scored twice.
 
Sophomore Eliza Pattershall (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) and junior Cierra Hill (Pembroke, N.H./Pembroke Academy) were also key contributors to the victory. Pattershall scored twice, had an assist and grabbed a pair of ground balls. Hill logged two goals and two assists plus eight draw controls.  
 
The Records:
Eastern Connecticut State 12-5 (4-4 LEC)
Southern Maine: 12-5 (6-2 LEC)
 
Series History:
The Huskies have cut the Warriors' lead in the series to 19-12 with today's win.
 
The Goaltenders:
Eastern Connecticut State: Emma Alford (3-1), 45:00, 14 goals allowed, five saves
Eastern Connecticut State: Maizie Rukat, 15:00, one goal allowed, zero saves
Southern Maine: Lydia Laslavic (12-5), 60:00, 13 goals allowed, 11 saves
 
How It Happened:

• D'Appolonia scored twice in 33 seconds to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead with 9:19 left in the quarter. The quarter ended on a 2-0 run by the Warriors to tie the game with goals by Sydney Goyette and Abby Parisi with Alexa Vizzini assisting on the former's goal.
• The teams combined for 10 goals in the second quarter with each side scoring five times. Avonlea LeBeau scored three of the Warrior goals with two being woman-up goals. Pattershall scored a goal in the quarter and assisted on a goal by Byers. D'Appolonia scored the first and last goals of the quarter for the Huskies. Her final goal came after she won the draw and sprinted down the field to tie the game at 7-7 just nine seconds after LeBeau gave the Warriors the lead with an up-goal.
• D'Appolonia put the Huskies ahead with a free-position goal 24 seconds into the third and Pattershall extended the lead to two with her second goal of the game a few minutes later. Vizzini cut the lead back down to a goal before a 3-0 run put the Huskies up 12-8. Hanselmann had the first goal with Gatchell assisting, then Hill passed to D'Appolonia for a goal and Byers added a woman-up goal. Parisi converted a free-position attempt with 4:01 left to make the score 12-9 but the Huskies ended the quarter ahead 14-9 off goals from D'Appolonia and Hill with each player assisted on the other's goal.
• Gatchell broke the assists record by setting up Hanselmann in front of the net to make the lead 15-9 with 14:35 remaining. The Warriors controlled possession for most of the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 15-12 with a goal by Hannah Seltzer and free-position scores by Emma Oliano and Parisi. Goyette then scored a woman-up goal to make the score 15-13 with 2:44.
• Hill won the next draw control and helped run down the clock before firing a ball that rang the post. D'Appolonia was able to get the rebound and retain possession but aggressive defense by Kaylee Drobish resulted in a turnover and gave the Warriors the ball with 56 seconds left. Laslavic denied a shot by Vizzini with 25 seconds left and the Huskies held on for the win.

 
Inside The Stats:

• The Huskies more than doubled the Warriors' total on draw controls at 22-10. D'Appolonia led the Huskies with 13 followed by Hill with eight.
• Eastern Connecticut had a slight 19-18 lead in ground balls.
• The Warriors led 24-20 in shots on goal.
• Southern Maine's 12 wins this season are tied for the most in program history with the 2013 team.  

 
Up Next:
Today's game concludes the regular season for the Huskies. The team has earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming LEC Tournament and will host No. 6 UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday at home in the first round. The time of the game has yet to be determined.