GORHAM, Maine - Senior Caroline Galligan (Marshfield, Mass.) scored five goals and dished out two assists to lead the WestConn women's lacrosse team to a 14-9 victory over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in Little East Conference play Saturday afternoon at Hannaford Field.
The win was the second straight for the Colonials who moved to 2-0 overall and in conference play. The Huskies tasted defeat for the first time this season and fell to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in LEC games.
"This was an exciting and competitive win," stated WestConn head coach Meghan Els. "We came out strong in the second half and our defense was stellar, " she added.
Complementing Galligan in the offensive zone was rookie Victoria Gracy (Bethel, Conn.) who chipped in four goals, and sophomore Alexa Riggio (North Massapequa, N.Y.) with two goals and one assist. Sophomore goalie Anna Schipf (Babylon, N.Y.) recorded five saves to earn her second win of the season.
Senior Alex Farley (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) led the home side with four goals and one assist. Classmate Megan Violette (Portland, Maine/Deering) contributed three goals. USM senior goalie Mariah Vaillancourt (Lewiston, Maine/Edward Little) made 11 saves.
The WestConn defense was the story of the second half holding the Huskies scoreless over the final 30 minutes. WestConn limited USM to just three shots and forced 14 turnovers in the second half. WestConn also dominated around the center circle winning 15 of 23 draws in the game.
Down one, 9-8, at the intermission, Riggio tied the score at 24:38 off a feed from Galligan, and Gracy put the visitors ahead to stay just over two minutes later, again off a feed from Galligan.
Nineteen seconds after gaining the lead, WestConn made it 11-9 on Riggio's second marker. Galligan would score her final three goals over the final 20 minutes to secure the win.
Southern Maine raced out to a 4-1 lead in the opening seven minutes of play. After Galligan opened the scoring, Violette, junior Rachel Shanks (Naples, Maine/Lake Region), Farley, and Violette again found the net to give the Huskies the early momentum.
WestConn scored five consecutive goals to wipe out the three-goal deficit and take a 6-4 lead. Gracy had two of the five markers. Farley responded for USM with a pair of goals 37 seconds apart to tie the game at 6-6.
The teams traded two goals apiece over the next 11 minutes to make it 8-8. USM grabbed the lead with less than a second to play in the half when junior Evelyn Hinkley (West Gardiner, Maine) converted on a free position attempt.
Southern Maine is back in action next Saturday (April 10) when it is scheduled to travel to Castleton University. WestConn will return home next Saturday to host Rhode Island College.
