Box Score

GORHAM, Maine -- Tied at 5-5 late in the first half, the University of Southern Maine scored twice before intermission and came out with six of the initial eight goals after halftime on its way to an 18-13 non-conference women's lacrosse victory over the University of New England on Thursday (Mar. 7) at Hannaford Field.

The Huskies (2-0) led by as many as eight in the final period before the Nor'easters (0-2) closed the gap at the finish.

Sarah Pelligrinelli found the back of the net five times to lead USM, and Lauren Santo tallied four goals to go with two assists. Rosie Forster had three goals, two helpers, and 13 draw controls. Jacki Kelly, in addition to scoring once and dishing out two assists, picked up a game-high eight grounds balls and caused seven UNE turnovers.

Kim Vogel made 10 stops between the pipes for the Huskies, who out-shot their opponents by a 38-28 margin.

For the Nor'easters, junior Hannah Tavella (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) and sophomore Nikki Smith (Shapleigh, Maine) each scored four times. Smith also corralled four draw controls. Sophomore Gina Newsome (Danbury, Conn.) had two of both goals and assists.

First-year netminder Courtney Kendall (Waltham, Mass.) turned in 11 saves for the visitors.

Level in the early-going (2-2), Southern Maine scored the only three goals over a 14-minute stretch to move in front. However, Big Blue answered with three of its own to wipe away the Huskies' advantage.

It was then that Kelly struck for her only marker of the match with 1:28 left before the break. Pelligrinelli added one just 12 seconds later to make it a two-goal difference (7-5) at halftime.

USM carried that momentum through the intermission, and, by the 20:32 mark of the second stanza, had assumed a 13-7 cushion. Pelligrinelli and Santo each had two goals in the run to aid the separation.

Southern Maine visits Endicott College on Saturday (1 p.m.), while the Nor'easters return home to face nationally-ranked Bowdoin College on Wednesday (4 p.m.).

With the final goal of the contest, Tavella moved into third place on UNE's all-time list with her 116th career tally, passing Ruth Ness '05.