GORHAM, Maine – Two seasons removed from its 2023 Little East Conference title run, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' field hockey team was picked to finish third in the 2025 Little East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 22 points. Vermont State University Castleton received four first place votes and 34 points to finish atop the poll, while Keene State College earned 33 points and three first place votes. Keene State defeated VTSU-Castleton 3-2 in the 2024 championship game. The Huskies advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 tournament, narrowly falling to VTSU-Castleton 2-1. Southern Maine had defeated Eastern Connecticut 1-0 in the quarterfinals to advance.
Returning to Hannaford Field last week for the start of preseason, the Huskies open their 2025 campaign on at home against local rival University of New England on Friday, August 29 (4 pm), and then takes on Mount Holyoke College on Saturday (4:00 pm). Playing a challenging schedule that features several nationally-ranked programs, Southern Maine finished its 2024 campaign with an overall record of 7-14 and a conference record of 2-4 in the Little East.
Led by veteran head coach Bonny Brown Denico '91, '98, Southern Maine returns just two true seniors, and three players who figured consistently in starting roles in 2024. However, Brown Denico is hopeful for the potential of her incoming class. Among the Huskies' returning student-athletes is senior goalkeeper
Eleanor Folsom (Winthrop, Maine/Winthrop). With 54 career games to her credit and 2493 career minutes, Folsom played and started in 21 games in 2024 with a 0.712 save percentage, making a career-high 111 saves for a 2.73 goals against average. Folsom had three double-digit save games for the Huskies in contests against nationally-ranked Bates, Bowdoin and Endicott College. In the 2024 LEC playoffs, Folsom earned the shutout putting in a full 60-minute shift in USM's 1-0 win over the Warriors.
Junior
Dylan Barr (Phippsburg, Maine/Morse) and senior
Olivia Staggs (Sabattus, Maine/Oak Hill) each return to the Huskies lineup as regulars. Barr, a forward, played in 19 games in 2024 with 14 starts. Contributing two goals and four assists for seven points, Barr had Southern Maine's game-winning goal in a 4-1 triumph over Framingham State (October 8, 2024). Staggs, a member of the Huskies' defense, played in 21 games with 12 starts, and earned 10 consecutive starts to close-out the 2024 season.
Gaining valuable experience as a rookie in 2024, sophomore
Leah Thibodeau (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) also returns for the Huskies. Floating between midfield and forward last season, Thibodeau saw action in each of the Huskies' 21 games, starting two. She had four goals (two against Little East Conference opponents) and scored Southern Maine's game-winning goal, 1-0, over Eastern Connecticut State University in the LEC quarterfinals. Also returning for the Huskies after a season away is junior forward
HJ Tuplin (Lisbon, Maine/Lisbon Falls). Tuplin had a strong start to her rookie season in 2023, playing in six game with a pair of starts before suffering an season-ending injury. She was named the LEC Rookie of the Week once during that season, scoring a pair of goals in USM wins over Saint Joseph's College and Framingham State.
| 2025 Little East Conference Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll (FPV) |
| 1. |
VTSU-Castleton |
34 points |
(4) |
| 2. |
Keene State |
33 points |
(3) |
| 3. |
Southern Maine |
22 points |
|
| 4 |
Plymouth State |
21 points |
|
| 5. |
Western Connecticut |
16 points |
|
| 6. |
Eastern Connecticut |
13 points |
|
| 7. |
UMass Dartmouth |
8 points |
|
| |
|
|
|
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