GORHAM, Maine – Graduate student Sydney Dubois (Goffstown, N.H.) scored in the opening minute of overtime and third-seeded Plymouth State University rallied from a four-goal deficit to upset second-seeded University of Southern Maine, 8-7, in the semifinal round of the Little East Conference (LEC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Hannaford Field on Thursday.
 
PSU advances to its seventh-straight title game and looks to capture a fourth consecutive LEC Tournament championship on Saturday (May 1). The Panthers face the winner of tonight's other semifinal contest – top-seeded Western Connecticut State University and fourth-seeded Keene State College.
 
The Huskies looked poised to punch a ticket to the championship game, leading 7-3 with just over 11 minutes remaining, but the Panthers roared back and senior Elizabeth McLaughlin (Melvin Village, N.H.) converted a free position shot during a woman-up opportunity to tie the game with 2:41 remaining.
 
USM won the opening draw of overtime but a Huskies' player stepped out of bounds and Dubois buried a feed from sophomore Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) on Plymouth State's ensuing possession.
 
Plymouth State improves to 7-2, while Southern Maine ends its season with a 6-3 record.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 8, Southern Maine 7 (OT)
  • Plymouth State (7-2)
  • Southern Maine (6-3)

Top Performers:

• Elizabeth McLaughlin (2 goals, 2 assts, 2 ground balls, 4 draw controls)
• Emily Le Do (goal, 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers)
• Meaghan Allard (9 saves)

How it Happened:

• Southern Maine scored twice in the first ten minutes, but McLaughlin cut the deficit in half with a free position goal following a Huskies' yellow card to make it 2-1 after three minutes of action.
• USM notched back-to-back scores to push the lead to 4-1, but junior Devon Mello (Laconia, N.H.) converted a free position attempt in the final seconds to make it a 4-2 deficit at the half.
• A second yellow card gave PSU another woman-up chance and sophomore Emily Santom (Litchfield, N.H.) took advantage to make it a one-goal game, 4-3, with 22:14 left to play.
• The Huskies responded with three straight tallies as the lead ballooned to 7-3.
• Santom picked up her second of the night with 11:12 to go and five minutes later junior Kaylee St. Laurent (Alfred, Maine) found the back of the cage to force a USM timeout.
• Freshman Emily Le Do (Portsmouth, R.I.) picked off a Huskies' pass and raced the length of the field before firing a shot past the USM goalie to cut the margin to 7-6 with 5:41 remaining and McLaughlin's free position goal with 2:41 to play evened the game.
• McLaughlin had a chance on another free position attempt with 1:39 left, but the USM goalie made a terrific save to force overtime.
• USM won the opening draw, but a Huskies' player was forced out of bounds to give possession to the Panthers. Croke found a cutting Dubois, whose sidearmed shot snuck just inside the left post and under the goalie's stick to complete the dramatic come-from-behind win.

By the Numbers:

• PSU outshot the Huskies by a 19-16 margin.
• USM converted 16-of-20 clear attempts, while the Panthers were 16-of-19.
• Plymouth State won 11-of-16 draw controls, but the Huskies scooped up 18 ground balls to the Panthers' ten.
• McLaughlin and Santom each scored twice and share the team-lead with 24 goals on the season.
• Mellon chipped in with a goal and an assist while adding two ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Le Do's goal was the first of her career.
• Senior Meaghan Allard (Amherst, N.H.) made nine saves and added two caused turnovers to improve to 7-2.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State goes for the four-peat on Saturday (May 1).