Statistics

GORHAM, Maine -- The University of Southern Maine saw its six-goal, 4th-quarter lead sliced all the way down to one and needed a free-position shot save from Cece Racine with three seconds left to preserve a 14-13 women's lacrosse result against the University of New England at Hannaford Field on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 27).

The Nor'easters trailed by as many as seven (12-5) shortly after halftime, and by six (13-7) less than one minute into the final period, before starting to chip away at the deficit. UNE found goals from Emma Collingwood (10:52) and Kimmy Staniar (7:16), and, while USM's Rachel Shanks delayed the rally with a marker at 6:32 on the clock, Micaela Jacobs struck right back for the visitors 31 seconds later (14-10).

The Huskies barely touched the ball the rest of the way, with two shot attempts (one saved) and two turnovers during the final six minutes, as Sydney Balotin (3:28), Molly Henderson (2:20), and Jacobs again (1:53) trimmed the gap to one. UNE won the ensuing draw, only to see Racine stop another free-position try with 86 seconds remaining, but then one of those USM turnovers gave the Nor'easters the ball in their defensive zone with 28 ticks to go. UNE's look at tying things up in the waning seconds was aimed just under the crossbar and pushed over the cage.

Julia McKenna had a team-high six points for Southern Maine (1-1), totaling five goals to go along with six draw controls. Shanks also scored five times, while Paige Rinaldi and Anna Byers combined to add 11 more draws for an 18-13 Huskies advantage in restarts. Racine finished with seven saves.

Nine different players tallied goals for the Nor'easters (0-2), topped by Jacobs, Collingwood, Henderson, and Nicole DePodesta. In addition to scores, Emily Jacobs and Barrie Guertin had three and two assists, respectively. Siobhan Smith had the remaining goal, the only one of the game that occurred while a team was shorthanded. Kaylee Lucas recorded team-highs of four ground balls and two caused turnovers on the other end, while Jenna Trafford posted eight saves.

Early on, USM raced out to a 5-0 cushion in less than seven minutes. It was 6-1 entering the 2nd stanza, when UNE rattled off four goals in 61 seconds to close within 6-5 at the 11:27 mark. However, McKenna netted the next two as the hosts stretched the margin back out.

The Nor'easters are slated for their home opener on Friday (4 p.m.) versus Bridgewater State University.