PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior Elizabeth McLaughlin (Melvin Village, N.H.) scored four goals and added an assist, but the University of Southern Maine held off a late Plymouth State University rally to top the Panthers, 10-7, in a Little East Conference (LEC) women's lacrosse game at Panther Field on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Plymouth State took an early lead, but the Huskies rallied with five straight goals and the visitors would lead the rest of the way. PSU pulled to within two, 5-3, early in the second half but Southern Maine answered with a 5-0 spurt to lead 10-3.
 
McLaughlin scored three goals and assisted on a fourth as PSU attempted to mount a comeback over the final 13 minutes, but the clock ran out on the Panthers.
 
Plymouth State drops to 4-2 (4-2 LEC), while the Huskies move to 4-2 and 3-2 in the LEC.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 7, Southern Maine 10
  • Plymouth State (4-2, 4-2 LEC)
  • Southern Maine (4-2, 3-2 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Elizabeth McLaughlin (4 goals, 1 asst, 5 ground balls, 5 caused turnovers)
• Olivia Croke (2 goals, 1 assist)
• Meaghan Allard (10 saves, 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers)

How it Happened:

• McLaughlin put the Panthers ahead just 1:37 into the game. USM scored twice in a 70-second span to pull in front, then pushed the lead to 4-1 with a woman-up goal with four minutes left in the half.
• The Huskies added a fifth goal in the final minute of the half for a 5-1 lead at the break.
• Plymouth State increased its intensity out of the intermission and sophomore Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) scored twice to pull the Panthers to within two, 5-3.
• Southern Maine came right back with a free position goal that sparked a 5-0 surge as the visitors extended the lead to 10-3 with 15:49 remaining.
• McLaughlin stopped the run with her second of the afternoon, then found sophomore Sarah Schartner (Plymouth, N.H.) for her first career goal to make it 10-5 with 11:06 to play.
• McLaughlin added two more tallies to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 2:36 left on the clock, but that was as close as the Panthers would get.

By the Numbers:

• Plymouth State held a slight 27-24 edge in shots and earned 12 free position shots, but were only able to convert on one attempt.
• USM won 11-of-18 draw controls, but the Panthers picked up 22 ground balls to the Huskies' 16.
• Senior Meaghan Allard (Amherst, N.H.) reached double-digits in saves for the second straight game, finishing with 10.
• Plymouth State hadn't lost back-to-back conference games since dropping consecutive games on Apr. 19 and Apr. 23, 2016.

Up Next:

• PSU closes out the regular season on Saturday (Apr. 24) with a Senior Day LEC contest against Keene State at 11:00 a.m.