WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior goalkeeper Paige Reisman (Milford, Mass.) registered seven saves, but the Owls were shut out by Southern Maine 2-0 in a Little East Conference game from Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Owls drop to 5-5 on the season and 2-2 in LEC action. Southern Maine stays perfect in conference play at a mark of 5-0 while improving to 7-4 overall.
Southern Maine tallied their first goal of the game in the waning minutes of the first half as Abigail Chartier (Lewiston, Maine) fed a penalty corner pass to Jordan Cummings (Auburn, Maine) who set up Ginny Twitchell (Turner, Maine) for her fourth goal of the season.
The Huskies connected on another penalty corner, this time in the closing seconds of the third quarter. Brooke Carson (Bryant Pond, Maine) directed a pass to Hannah Banks (Belfast, Maine) who weaved between a slew of Owls defenders, then fired a shot through the five-hole of Reisman to give Southern Maine a two goal advantage.
The Owls attempted a late fourth quarter rally, totaling over half of their shots on goal in the period. Huskies goalie Eleanor Folsom (Winthrop, Maine) stood tall in net, shutting down consecutive shots by Jordan Conrad (Worcester, Mass.) in the 56th minute.
Westfield continued their offensive attack as a pair of shots from Lindsey Spindel (Mendon, Mass.) and Kaleigh Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) were denied by Folsom, causing a scramble in front of the net where the Owls were unable to bury a loose ball in the center of the box.
Southern Maine held a slight advantage in shots, attempting 15 to the Owls 12 with half of Westfield's shots attempted in the fourth quarter. The Huskies produced 13 shots on net to the Owls ten.
Folsom and starting goalkeeper Julianna Kiklis (York, Maine) combined for the shutout for the Huskies with Kiklis stopping four shots in the first half and Folsom producing six stops in relief.
Westfield State will face Fitchburg State in their next matchup in a Little East Conference game on Wednesday with a start time of 6:00 P.M. Southern Maine carries a three-game winning streak into their next game against conference foe Worcester State on Wednesday at 7:00 P.M.