Southern Maine Edges Fitchburg State, 17-13

Burns and Swan pace Falcons with ten combined points

FITCHBURG, Mass. (March 21, 2009) - Freshman Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) and junior Emily Swan (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) combined for ten points as Fitchburg State fell to Southern Maine, 17-13 in non-conference action this afternoon.

AMANDA BURNS

Burns led the Fitchburg State attack with a team-high three goals and two assists, while Swan added two scores and team-best three helpers. Sophomore Kaitlyn Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) and freshman Jill Shaner (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) registered two goals apiece to aid the Falcons, while sophomore Danielle Pelletier (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) chipped in with one goal and one assist.

Southern Maine sophomore Kelsey Rodrigue (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) led all scorers with a game-high five goals and one assist, while classmate Mary Vaughan (Brunswick, Maine/Pomfret School) totaled six points with two assists and four markers. Senior Caitlin Albert (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) was also strong for the Huskies, posting five points on two goals and three assists.

The Huskies jumped out to an early 6-2 lead midway through the first half as freshman Sarah Bonenfant (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) connected for three first half scores. Fitchburg State battled back, rifling off three goals in a 5:30 span to cut the Southern Maine lead to two (7-5). Shaner and Swan registered goals for the Falcons late in the half to bring Fitchburg State within one (8-7), but Southern Maine extended its lead (9-7) in the closing seconds as Vaughn found the back of the net with four seconds remaining.

In the second half, Southern Maine came out firing, netting a goal in the opening minute, but Fitchburg State responded with three unanswered goals to knot the contest at 10-10. Burns and Swan led the Falcon rally with one goal apiece, while freshman Kelly Finamore (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) added a free position score. The two teams continued to trade goals throughout the frame, but Southern Maine secured its first victory of the season, closing the contest with three goals in the final ten minutes.

Southern Maine out-shot Fitchburg State 41-24 in the contest, while holding a 44-23 advantage in groundballs. Senior goalkeeper Jen Astrella (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) totaled 14 saves in net for the Falcons while sophomore Rachel Lolley (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) stopped eight shots for the Huskies.    

Fitchburg State (0-3, 0-0 NEWLA) will hit the field again on Thursday as it hosts St. Joseph's of Maine at 7 p.m. Southern Maine (1-1, 0-0 LEC) will host the University of Maine-Farmington on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

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Southern Maine 17, Fitchburg State 13

Goals:
FIT: Amanda Burns (3), Emily Swan (2), Kaitlyn Kelley (2), Kelley Finamore (2), Jill Shaner (2), Danielle Pelletier (1), Carissa Kennedy (1);
USM: Kelsey Rodrigue (5), Mary Vaughan (4), Sarah Bonenfant (3), Caitlin Albert (2), Jessica Knight (1), Kelsey Inzer (1), Audrey Shutts (1);

Assists:
FIT: Swan (3), Burns (2), Tori D'Amato (1), Pelletier (1)
USM: Albert (3), Vaughan (2), Brittney Bennett (1), Rodrigue (1);

Goalkeeping:
FIT: Jen Astrella (60:00), 14 saves:
USM: Rachel Lolley (60:00), eight saves