GORHAM, Maine – The Castleton University women's lacrosse team opened Little East Conference play on Saturday, dropping a road contest to Southern Maine, 20-1.
 
The Huskies (6-3, 1-0 LEC) outshot Castleton (0-6, 0-1 LEC) 30-13, including a 24-9 edge in shots on goal. USM also had a 17-11 edge in ground balls, 12-10 edge in draw controls and a 12-8 edge in successful clears.
 
Kimberly McCarthy tallied Castleton's lone goal, a fourth-quarter score on an assist from Ryanne Mix. Mix finished the day with five draw controls and two ground balls in addition to her helper. Colleen Sheridan, Deena Jacunski and Megan Brier also had two ground balls each, with Jacunski also causing two turnovers. Lacey Greenamyre added three draw controls. Raven Payne stopped four shots in goal for the Spartans.
 
Rachel Shanks and Jennifer Darasz had seven goals apiece for USM, with Shanks adding four assists and Darasz three. Kate Colvin netted four goals for the Huskies with six ground balls and six draw controls. Four of the Huskies' goals came on free-position scores. Cece Ravine earned the win, making four saves in a scoreless first half before giving way to Lydia Laslavic for the second half.
 
The Huskies came out strong, scoring seven goals in each of the first two frames for a 14-0 halftime lead. Three more goals in the third made it 17-0, and USM pushed the gap to 20-0 before McCarthy scored to close the game for Castleton.
 
"I am very proud of how we played today; we continue to grind and work hard for a full 60 minutes," said head coach Jamie Blake. "We did so many things right all over the field today that should not be overshadowed by the scoreboard. [Southern Maine's] goalies had multiple point-blank saves to keep us out of it all game long. We will build momentum off of the fast-paced speed of Little East Conference play that we saw today and look forward to hosting Norwich on Wednesday night."
 
The Spartans are back in action against the Cadets at Dave Wolk Stadium Wednesday night at 7 p.m.