DANBURY, Conn. - Graduate student goalkeeper Molly Bresnahan (Groton, Conn.) finished with 10 saves including a pair of point blank stops as the second-seeded Western Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team advanced to the Little East Conference championship game following an 11-10 victory over visiting third-seeded University of Southern Maine on Thursday evening at the Westside Athletic Complex. 

Junior attacker Madison Rathford (Ridge, N.Y) provided the offensive firepower with a game-high five goals for the Wolves, while senior Savannah Kom (Danbury, Conn.) provided an extra punch with a hat trick.

Junior Cierra Hill (Pembroke, N.H.) and sophomore Eliza Pattershall (Readfield, ME) led the Huskies with three goals and one assist apiece.

As the score would indicate, the majority of the statistical columns were nearly identical. The visitors jumped out to an early 4-2 lead as four different Huskies found the back of the net. They widened the gap to 5-2 in the second before WestConn reeled off a 3-0 run, deadlocking the count at 5-5 heading into halftime. Ratchford fired home the equalizer when she found the twine for her team-leading 62nd marker of the campaign.

Hill opened the third stanza with her 45th and 46th scoring strikes of the year, giving Southern Maine a 7-5 advantage. However, the Wolves would answer with yet another run, knotting the count at 9-9 when junior middie Faye Junge (Centerport, N.Y.) converted a free-position shot. Moments later, Ratchford fired a rocket into the back of the cage, earning the hosts a 10-9 lead heading into the fourth.

Kom canned a power play marker to extend it to 11-9 early in the fourth. The Huskies would not recover as they racked up five cards in the period. They eventually cut it to 11-10 with 2:42 remaining but the Wolves were able to play keepaway in the waning minute.

Bresnahan finished with 10 saves, while Southern Maine senior netminder Lydia Laslavic (Thomaston, ME) recorded four. With the win, WestConn improved to 15-2 overall while the Huskies season concluded at 13-6. The Wolves square up against top-seeded host Plymouth State on Saturday at Noon. The winner claims the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.