PLYMOUTH – Second-half goals by senior Jaimee Coombs and junior Nicole Bedard paved the way for Plymouth’s 2-1 comeback victory over the University of Southern Maine in a Little East Conference match-up at Panther Field.
The Panthers won their first conference game of the season and improved to 4-3-0 overall and 1-2 in the conference. The Huskies dropped their second straight one-goal game and fell to 4-5-0 overall and 1-2 in the LEC.
PSU and USM managed six shots in the first half, who rank sixth and eighth in shots in the LEC standings, respectively. Neither team was able to score in the first half as goalkeepers Meghan Ibar of Southern Maine and Ashley Riberdy of Plymouth State stopped each of the six shots they saw.
The Huskies jumped out quickly in the second half when senior Natasha Levandowski, who is tied for fourth place in goals in the conference, nailed a shot past Rodier after an assist from first-year Lila Dunham-Conway.
The lead lasted for nearly 15 minutes, when Coombs tied the game at the 63-minute mark. Coombs has averaged 0.43 goals a game and is tied for 10th in the LEC with three goals in seven games. Less than five minutes later, Bedard nailed the first shot of her career, ultimately giving Plymouth the lead and the victory. First-year Rachel Kindl and sophomore Gianna Minervini both recorded assists in the victory.
Riberdy got the win for Plymouth, recording seven saves. Ibar ended up with eight saves for the Huskies.
Plymouth currently ranks fifth in the conference and lost to Salem State on Tuesday 2-3 in overtime. Plymouth will travel to Western Connecticut State University on Sunday 10/7 for a Little East Conference match-up. Plymouth currently has one more home conference game remaining in the regular season against University of Massachusetts in Boston on October 27.