BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The visiting University of Southern Maine field hockey team edged Bridgewater State University, 2-1, in a Little East Conference (LEC) contest on Thursday night at Swenson Field. The game marked the conference opener for both teams.

The Huskies improve to 1-2 (1-0 LEC) on the season, while the host Bears fall to 2-1 (0-1 LEC).

After a scoreless opening stanza, Southern Maine senior midfielder Michaela Demers (Manchester, N.H.) converted a penalty stroke a little over three minutes into the second half to give the Huskies the 1-0 advantage.

That lead was short-lived, however, as just 85 seconds later BSU sophomore midfielder Samantha Hayes (Norwood, Mass.) notched her team-best fourth goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1. Hayes stick-handled inside the half-circle and beat the USM netminder with a blistering shot inside the left post.

Southern Maine regained the advantage in the 43rd minute of play as senior forward Kyrstyn Keating (Freedom, Maine) tucked a shot inside the near post from seven yards out off a right-side feed from junior forward Tayla Smedberg (Oxford, Maine).

That would be all the scoring in the game. The Bears did have three penalty corner opportunities in the final seconds, including two with no time on the clock, but were unable to convert.

Southern Maine held a slight 14-13 edge in shots, while Bridgewater posted a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners.

Senior netminder Amanda Kasbohm (York, Maine) made four saves to record her first win of the season between the pipes for the Huskies. BSU sophomore goaltender Allison Chappell (Raynham, Mass.) turned aside six shots in the setback.

The Little East Conference schedule continues for both teams on Saturday afternoon. The Bears travel to Westfield State University for a 3:30 game with the Owls, while the Huskies entertain the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State University at one.