BANGOR, Maine – The Husson University women's lacrosse team opened the 2026 season on Wednesday afternoon, falling to the University of New England, 16-9, at Boucher Field.
The Eagles (0-1) struck first in the season opener. Just 3:24 into the contest, sophomore Reese Sullivan finished a feed from sophomore Kate Boehmcke to give Husson a 1-0 lead. After the Nor'easters (1-0) responded with a man-up goal, Husson regained the advantage at the 6:46 mark of the first quarter when senior Averi Baker buried a pass from senior Gracie Gardner to make it 2-1.
UNE answered with a late first-quarter surge, scoring three of the final four goals of the frame to take a 4-2 edge into the second quarter.
The Nor'easters carried that momentum into the second, building their lead to 6-2 before Baker netted her second of the day at 5:28 to halt the run. Gardner converted on a free-position opportunity just over two minutes later to trim the deficit to 6-4, and Sullivan capitalized on an assist from Baker in the final minute of the half to keep the Eagles within striking distance. However, a late UNE tally sent Husson into the break trailing 9-5.
UNE controlled the third quarter, outscoring Husson 5-0 to extend the advantage to 14-5 heading into the final period.
The Eagles showed resilience in the fourth. Boehmcke opened the scoring in the quarter with a man-up free-position goal at 11:32, and she added another tally midway through the frame. Sullivan recorded her third goal of the afternoon with 4:15 remaining off another Boehmcke assist, and Boehmcke capped her hat trick with a second man-up goal in the final minutes to account for the 16-9 final score.
Boehmcke and Sullivan led Husson with three goals apiece, while Baker added two goals and two assists. Gardner chipped in one goal and one assist. Boehmcke also contributed three ground balls, one caused turnover and one draw control, while Sullivan added three draw controls and a ground ball. Sophomore Adella Mabee paced the Eagles with three draw controls, and Gardner and Baker each recorded one draw control.
Defensively, junior Jory Boyd led the way with a team-high four ground balls and five caused turnovers. Freshman Lauren Small added two ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Gardner and Mabee each tallied one caused turnover. In goal, freshman Salin Bachor made seven saves in the full 60 minutes.
UNE held slight advantages in shots (29-21) and draw controls (16-10), while both teams recorded 16 successful clears on 21 attempts.
The Eagles return to the field on Saturday when they host Dean College at 12 p.m.
