GORHAM, Maine    –  Senior Jenessa Foster (Pittsfield, Maine/Maine Central Institute) and freshman Haylee Romasco (Newport, Maine/Nokomis) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' field hockey team each earned weekly honors from the Little East Conference. Foster was named the Defensive Player of the Week, while Romasco was selected as both the Rookie and Goalkeeper of the Week.
 
Helping anchor Southern Maine's back line, Foster helped USM to two wins in a three-game week, including a 1-0 road win at Wellesley College midweek, and a 2-1 double overtime win over Husson University on Friday.  Foster and the rest of the Huskies' defense limited Wellesley to just four shots on goal (nine overall).  Against Husson, Foster helped USM hold the Eagles to five shots (four on goal) in nearly 75 minutes of action.  In the Huskies 3-2 double overtime loss to No. 24 University of Lynchburg, Foster had a pair of defensive saves.
 
Romasco continued her strong start to her collegiate career, finishing the week 2-1 with a 1.13 goals against average and a .889 save percentage.  Romasco earned his first career shutout making four saves against Wellesley.  On Friday, Romasco made three saves against Husson, including two in the second overtime period to help USM to its first win over Husson since 2023.  Romasco finished her week making 25 saves in a stellar effort in a 3-2 double overtime loss to No. 24 Lynchburg.
 
One of the Huskies' co-captains, Elie anchored the Southern Maine defense in its first two games of 2026. In the Huskies' 3-1 win over the University of Hartford, Elie tallied the second goal of her career, and the first game-winning goal of her career, to put USM head 2-1 in the third quarter. Coming up from the back to insert the ball on one of the Huskies' 12 penalty corners in the contest, Elie sent in a well-struck ball to teammate sophomore Madison Niles (Benton, Maine/Lawrence) and then redirected the ball into the net on the return for the go-ahead goal.  Over two games, Elie helped USM's defense limit its opponents to 12 total shots.
 
Romasco earned the win in her intercollegiate debut making three saves in Southern Maine's win over Hartford.  The rookie goalkeeper had a .750 save percentage against the Hawks, and made several strong defensive clears to help back stop Southern Maine to its first win of 2026.
 
Southern Maine will face a tough three-game stretch over the next week. The Huskies are on the road for their next three games traveling to No. 16 Endicott College on September 23 (7:00 pm), nearby Saint Joseph's College on September 26 (11:00 am) and finally at No. 15 Bowdoin College on September 29 (7:00 pm).
 
2026 University of Southern Maine Weekly Honors
 
Julia Elie                               Sept. 7                      Little East Defensive Player of the Week
 
Jenessa Foster                   Sept. 21                    Little East Defensive Player of the Week
 
Haylee Romasco                Sept. 7                      Little East Goalkeeper of the Week
                                               Sept. 21                    Little East Goalkeeper of the Week
                                                                                 Little East Rookie of the Week
 
 
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