Box Score Bangor, ME – On a chilly night at the Winkin Complex at Husson University, the Husson Eagles field hockey team took care of business in conference play and defeated the Thomas Terriers by a final score of 5-0. The Eagles improve to 7-3 on the season and 4-0 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play, while the Terriers drop to 5-5 and 2-2 in conference action.
Tonight's game was Husson's annual Play for the Cure event, and the team collected donations for the National Foundation for Cancer Research in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Husson outshot Thomas 30-19, with Britt Mellor (Belfast, ME) and Sabrina Vaillancourt (Newport, ME) leading the way for the Eagles with two goals apiece. Liz Noddin (Skowhegan, ME) also picked up a goal, while Taylor Lovley (Newport, ME) added an assist on Vaillancourt's first score.
Mellor got the Eagles on the board early about six minutes into the game when she collected a rebound off the pads of Thomas goalkeeper Sofia Sourgiadakis and put it home to get the scoring started and put Husson ahead 1-0.
A little over seven minutes later, Taylor Lovley took the ball into the circle before finding Vaillancourt on the doorstep to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage. Vaillancourt would score once more with five minutes remaining in the first half to send the Eagles to the break leading comfortably 3-0.
The second half started out with an impressive display by Thomas getting the ball quickly and aggressively down the field on several occasions, setting up a few corners in the process. Husson would follow with a few corner attempts of their own, but to no avail for either team.
Then, in the 50th minute, Liz Noddin carried the ball nicely past a few Thomas defenders before firing a strike into the boards to add some insurance and make the score 4-0 in favor of the Eagles. Mellor would add one more for good measure in the 60th minute to give her a two-goal night and to round out the scoring for the night.
Maicee Gustin (Dexter, ME) had a very impressive night in the cage, stopping all 14 shots she faced to earn the shutout. Sourgiadakis, despite the final score, was also efficient in the net for the Terriers, stopping 13 of the 18 shots she faced on goal.
Husson's head field hockey coach Jen Johnstone said of the match, "Our offense was the best it's been all year, and we executed upon and took advantage of our opportunities. Defensively, Maicee was outstanding in cage tonight."
Husson will travel on Tuesday to play their next contest at Bowdoin at 7:00 PM.
