GORHAM, Maine – Closing out the Little East Conference regular-season as the 2026 Regular Season Champions, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' field hockey team secured the top see in the upcoming 2026 LEC Championship tournament. The Huskies are earning their third LEC Regular Season Championship in the last five seasons (2022, 2023 and 2026)
As the top seed, Southern Maine (13-7, 6-1 Little East) earned a quarterfinal round bye and will host the winner of the No. 4 Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors and No. 5 VTSU-Castleton Spartans quarterfinal played on Tuesday (5:00 pm) in Willimantic, Conn. The Huskies defeated both the Warriors and Spartans during the regular season, defeating Eastern Connecticut 2-1 in overtime on October 3 in Gorham, and VTSU-Castleton 3-1 on October 17, also in Gorham. Huskies' senior
Bri Townsend (Newport, Maine/Nokomis) scored both goals for USM in the win over the Warriors, while sophomore
Maddie Niles (Benton, Maine/Lawrence) scored two of the Huskies' three goals in the win over VTSU-Castleton.
Averaging 2.15 goals per game, the Huskies have totaled 43 goals this season, including 20 in Little East Conference games. Niles leads the way with nine goals and four assists for 22 points, including a team-leading five game-winning goals. Townsend has a pair of game-winners and has six goals and three assists this season for 15 points. Senior
Dylan Barr (Phippsburg, Maine/Morse) has six goals and two assists, while sophomores
Allie Flagg (Brewer, Maine) and
Mackenzie Hall (Westbrook, Maine) have five and four goals respectively.
Defensively, the Huskies are led by a veteran group of backs in senior
Julia Elie (Dayton, Maine/Thornton Academy), junior
Jenessa Foster (Pittsfield, Maine/Maine Central Institute) and junior
Jayla Gentry (Skowhegan, Maine). All three of earned Little East Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors this season and have held USM opponents to 36 goals (1.80 per game). Against Little East competition, the Huskies' defense has limited their opponents to just eight goals on the season. Freshman goalkeeper
Haylee Romasco (Newport, Maine/Nokomis) has had an outstanding rookie campaign with 11 wins and two shutouts. She has a .735 save percentage and a 1.80 goals against average. Against LEC opponents, Romasco has the best goals against average at 0.84.
2026 Little East Conference Tournament Championship Field
- Southern Maine, 13-7 (6-1 LEC)
- Plymouth State, 7-11 (5-2 LEC)
- Keene State, 12-7 (5-2 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut, 9-8 (4-3 LEC)
- VTSU-Castleton, 7-10 (4-3 LEC)
- UMass Dartmouth, 3-16 (2-5 LEC)
2026 Little East Conference Championship
Who: No. 1 Southern Maine v No. 4 Eastern Connecticut or No. 5 VTSU-Castleton
When: Thursday, November 5, 2026 (6:30 PM)
Where: University of Southern Maine, Gorham, Maine – Hannaford Field. .
What: 2026 Little East Conference Field Hockey Championship Tournament Semifinal
Southern Maine (13-7, 6-1 Little East)
Championships: 2 (2003, 2023)
LEC Tournament Record: 23-23 (.500), 23 appearances
Finals Appearances: 6
Finals Record: 2-4
Last Finals Appearance: 2023
Players to Watch: Maddie Niles, F, (9g, 4a, 22 pts) – 5 GWG;
Bri Townsend, F, (6g, 3a, 15 pts) – 2 GWG;
Dylan Barr, M, (6g, 2a, 14 pts) – 2 GWG;
Leah Thibodeau, M, (1g, 1a, 3 pts) – 1 GWG; Lizalynn Boudreau, M, (1g, 1a, 3 pts);
Jenessa Foster, B, 2 Defensive Saves;
Julia Elie, B, (2g, 1a, 5 pts), 2 Defensive Saves;
Jayla Gentry, B.
Goalkeeping: Haylee Romasco (11-6), 1034 minutes, 1.80 GAA, 86 Saves, .735 save percentage, 2 shutouts
No. 4 Eastern Connecticut (9-8, 4-3 Little East)
Championships: 1 (2021)
LEC Tournament Record: 7-13, 14 appearances
Finals Appearances: 3
Finals Record: 1-3
Last Finals Appearance: 2025
Players to Watch: Audrey Molin (20g, 4a, 44 pts); Grace Barlage (5g, 8a, 18 pts); Sophie Ash (4g, 4a, 12 pts); Katie Harrington (2g, 0a, 4 pts), 4 defensive saves.
Goalkeeping: Kate Paradise (5-2), 400 minutes, 1.65 GAA, 33 saves, 0.750 save percentage; Veronica McKenna (4-6), 650 minutes, 2.31 GAA, 51 saves, .671 save percentage
No. 5 VTSU-Castleton (7-10, 4-3 Little East)
Championships: 1 (2022)
LEC Tournament Record: 8-5, six appearances
Finals Appearances: 2
Finals Record: 1-1
Last Finals Appearance: 2023
Players to Watch: Gwyn Vincent (11g, 3a, 25 pts), - 2 GWG; Peyton Richardson (9g, 6a, 24 pts) – 3 GWG; Brooke Noble (3g, 3a, 9 pts), 7 defensive saves;
Goalkeeping: Izabella Cosden (7-10), 1034 minutes, 3.59 GAA, 71 saves, .534 Save Percentage.
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