BANGOR, Maine — The Husson University women's lacrosse team returned to action on Tuesday battling the University of Southern Maine to a hard-fought 12-9 home loss in non-conference action. 
 
USM (8-4) took a 1-0 lead in the opening minute of Tuesday's in-state matchup and lead for the opening five minutes before junior Laela Martinez found fellow junior Averi Baker for the first of her three goals on the night to knot the game a 1-1. 
 
The Huskies closed out the opening quarter on a 3-0 run to take a slight 4-1 lead into the second quarter. 
 
Husson (4-6) pulled within 4-2 with freshman Kate Boehmcke's 22nd goal of the season from Baker, but USM added a goal to run its edge back 5-2. 
 
However, the Eagles didn't go down without a fight in the opening half, cutting the lead to 5-4 with back-to-back goals to end the half. Baker scored off senior Natalie Whitten's assist, while Boehmcke tallied the second of her four goals on the night. 
 
Southern Maine came out of the half with three unanswered goals to increase its lead to 8-4, but Martinez found the back of the cage from senior Jordyn Lengle and Baker scored again from Whitten to pull within 8-6. 
 
The Huskies added two more goals over the final four minutes of the third quarter to control a 10-6 advantage. 
 
Martinez scored her second goal of the game to begin the fourth quarter, but back-to-back goals from USM saw the deficit run to 12-7 with 8:29 remaining. 
 
The Eagles battled back, scoring two goals over the final eight minutes, Boehmcke accounted for the final two scores, the first from Whitten to pull within 12-9, but Southern Maine ran out the clock to come away with the close decision. 
 
Whitten finished with a team-high three assists on the night, while senior Emma Beegz tallied four saves and a team-high five ground balls. 
 
Senior Maddy Benoit, Martinez and Boehmcke each forced three turnovers, while Boehmcke tallied four draw controls, followed by Baker and Benoit who added three draw controls each. 
 
The Eagles host Thomas College on Wednesday at 5 p.m. for their final home game of the 2025 season before ending the year with road matchups at the University of Maine at Farmington and Maine Maritime Academy.