Southern Maine Doubles Up Fitchburg State, 2-0

Begin collects eight saves to pace Falcons in LEC loss

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 22, 2011) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team battled the University of Southern Maine this afternoon, falling to the Huskies, 2-0 in Little East Conference action at Elliot Field.

After a scoreless first half, Southern Maine opened the second half strong as junior Kailey Bubier (Auburn, Maine/Hebron Academy) broke the 0-0 deadlock just two minutes into the frame.  Bubier picked up a loose ball in front of the Falcons net and lifted past goalkeeper Taylor Begin (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) for her seventh goal of the season.

The Huskies added the game clinching goal late in the second half as senior Whitney McDaniel (Livermore, Maine/Livermore Falls) found the back of the net in the 55th minute. McDaniel paired up with sophomore Ariel Kaplan (South Berwick, Maine/Winthrop) to notch her fourth score of the year.

In net, Begin was solid for the Falcons, totaling eight stops throughout the contest, while sophomore Kayla Kennedy (Windham, Maine/Windham) collected her sixth shutout of the season with nine saves for the Huskies.

For the contest, both teams created opportunities on the offensive end as Southern Maine held a slim 17-16 advantage in shots. The Falcons also posted a commanding 15-7 margin in penalty corners, but could not convert as Kennedy totaled seven first half saves.

Fitchburg State (7-8, 4-6 LEC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it travels to Lasell College at 4 p.m. Southern Maine (8-10, 5-5 LEC) will visit to New England College on Tuesday at 6 p.m.