Box Score HENNIKER, N.H. -- University of Maine at Farmington women's lacrosse (5-8) was defeated by New England College (11-7) on Saturday afternoon, 16-8, in the North Atlantic Conference quarterfinal round at Don Melander Field.
The Beavers kept the game close in the early going as
Rhi Jackson (Saco, Maine/Waynflete) tied the game at 1-1 only two minutes into the playoff game.
After the Pilgrims took a 4-1 lead, Jaclyn Langevin (Bow, N.H./Bow) cut the deficit down to 4-2 with a goal at 13:57 with the assist coming from Mara Balboni (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee).
Balboni added a goal of her own two minutes later but NEC registered five unanswered goals to close out the half and held a 10-3 lead at the break.
UMF used two quick goals from Jackson and Alaina Shorey (Lebanon, Maine/Noble) to get momentum back and trim NEC's lead down to 10-5.
Sierra Gilley (Harspwell, Maine/Mt. Aratat) contributed two more goals in the second half but the Beavers could not gain enough ground to overcome NEC's halftime lead.
Jackson finished with a hat trick and posted a pair of ground balls, caused turnovers, and draw controls.
Alyssa Arsenault (Winthrop, Maine/Winthrop) and Danielle Conway (Lakeville, Mass./Apponequet Regional) split time in net for the Beavers. Arsenault saved four shots in the first half while Conway stopped seven shots in the second half.
Tara Bainbridge tallied five goals to lead the Pilgrims. Alana Scott added four goals for NEC while Allison Granata registered a hat trick.
UMaine-Farmington extended its streak of qualifying for the postseason by playing in its seventh straight North Atlantic Conference Championship Tournament. The season was also highlighted by a First Team All-Conference selection in Erica Letellier (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford).
