Cate keeps scoring, UNE keeps winning

BIDDEFORD — It’s been the same sort of story for the UNE women’s lacrosse team.

Danielle Cate keeps scoring, and the Nor’easters keep winning over fellow foes of The Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Saturday afternoon was no exception, as Cate delivered three goals and provided an assist in the Nor’easters 12-11 win over Western New England.

Cate, a junior, is far and away UNE’s leading scorer in its first ten games with 44 goals and seven assists (52 points). That number is almost double what Cate provided last season, when she scored a then career high of 28 goals.

And, according to UNE head coach Sue Frost, all it took was a simple position change.

“Usually we switch her back and forth from midfield to attack,” Frost said. “We’ve been putting her more in the attack end of the field. I’m a big believer in having my best 12 on the field at the start of a game. I had a hole, and one of my players suggested putting her there, and I said ‘Hey, that’s a good idea, let’s try it.’ and it’s obviously been a great thing.”

The move has paid off. With Cate’s fire-power, the Nor’easters have accumulated an 8-2 record, including a 6-1 conference record on the season. UNE is second in the TCCC standings, trailing only Endicott, who has yet to lose a game in conference play.

Frost said a key factor in the Nor’easters success has been the team’s ability to play together.

“I think the strength so far this season so far has been us working as a team,” Frost said. “We keep each other up when we need to. We have each others backs.”

UNE took a 7-4 lead in the first half, thanks to goals from Cate, Mallory Long (2), Jessy Dvorak, Jenna Barton and Nicolle Steel.

Long matched Cate with three goals on the afternoon, while Dvorak and Barton each scored two goals.

The Golden Bears received a scare midway through the first half. Sophomore Katie Toomy had to be taken to Southern Maine Medical Center after collapsing while coming off the field. Toomy, at first breathing heavily after a shift on the field, dropped near the WNEC bench, complaining of pain in her lower right abdominal region.

Toomy slipped in and out of consciousness twice while being attended to by UNE trainers before a crew from the Biddeford Fire Department arrived and rushed her to the hospital. Play was stopped for 10 minutes while paramedics took Toomy off the field in a stretcher.

WNEC attack and Saco resident Marisa Hebert said the situation pushed the Golden Bears to make a comeback.

“We’re used to having her out there, she’s one of our biggest motivators,” Hebert said. “It kind of made us push harder to come back from that six-goal deficit.”

As of press time, there has been no update of Toomy’s status.

Inspired by the situation of its fallen teammate, the Golden Bears made a strong comeback in the second half. Led by the scoring of Lindsey Fenton and Megan Doyle, WNEC outscored the Nor’easters in the second half 7-5.

However, two late goals by Cate sealed the victory for UNE.

WNEC head coach Aimee Klepacki was proud of the way her team played through the adversity.

“It was tough for them,” Klepacki said. “But they did come back. We didn’t win, but they worked really hard at it and didn’t give up at all.”

The Nor’easters hit the road for a contest against conference opponent Regis on Tuesday.