HENNIKER, N.H. – The New England College field hockey team lost 5-1 to visiting University of Southern Maine on Thursday evening at Don Melander Field in Henniker, New Hampshire.
THE BASICS
Score: USM 5, New England College 1
Records: Pilgrims 7-7, 6-3 GNAC | Huskies 9-6, 2-0 LEC
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Huskies popped two goals on the Pilgrims early in the first quarter, taking a 3-1 lead into halftime. USM kept the pressure on in the second half, scoring two more goals in the third and stuffing the NEC offense for most of the night.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- USM demonstrated a balanced scoring attack for much of the game, with their three first half goals coming from junior forward Emma Samson (Auburn, Maine), freshman forward Norie Tibbets (Skowhegan, Maine) and freshman defender Jenessa Foster (Pittsfield, Maine).
- The 'Grims answered with 6:53 to go in the first half as NEC graduate midfielder Mikayla Vincent (Newburyport, Mass.) fought through the Huskies' midfield defense and launched a pass forward to graduate forward Drea Chin (Laconia, N.H.) who beat the goalie even with three defenders on her back to put the Pilgrims on the board, now trailing 3-1.
- USM junior forward Sage Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine) starred for the Huskies, scoring one goal with two assists.
- NEC sophomore goalkeeper Makenzie Anderson (Antrim, N.H.) tallied five saves on the night for the Pilgrims.
- USM sophomore goalkeeper Eleanor Folsom (Winthrop, Maine) played the first three quarters for the Huskies, finishing with two saves for the win.
- The Huskies outshot the Pilgrims, 18-7, with a 10-4 edge in shots on goal.
UP NEXT
- NEC is back on the field on Saturday when they host Saint Joseph's College of Maine in a 12:00 p.m. Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown. At press time, the Monks were ranked third and the Pilgrims were ranked fourth in the conference standings, with the playoffs looming just two weeks away.
- Southern Maine plays their next game at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. game.
