BIDDEFORD — The University of New England women’s soccer team cruised to a 5-0 shutout win over visiting rival University of Southern Maine, Tuesday afternoon.

Scarborough native Jessica Meader led the Nor’easters, scoring two goals as UNE collected the non-conference win.

UNE wasted little time getting on the board, taking the 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game on a goal from Meader, assisted by Becca Murphy.

Devon Wolfenden would score another UNE goal just 5:13 later, sending an impressive long-range shot into the top-right corner of the goal to extend the Nor’easter lead.

UNE coach Heather Davis was pleased with her team’s fast start.

“It’s very important, especially against a local rival like USM,” said Davis. “We’ve had a lot of great battles over the years so getting the jump and getting the momentum is very important.”

The Huskies continued to struggle defensively, allowing UNE to maintain possession for much of the first half.

Brionne Turcotte would later capitalize on a well-placed corner kick from Edie Pallozzi, putting a header into the net to give UNE the 3-0 lead at halftime.

Maintaining possession was all part of the plan, according to Davis.

“We really just tried to keep the ball as much as possible – so the more possession we keep the more it keeps them chasing which typically will wear that team out,” said Davis. “That allows us to keep the momentum and keep the possession.”

UNE would continue to surge in the second half, immediately forcing the ball into the USM zone to keep the Huskies on the defense.

Meader would tally her second goal just over six minutes into the second half while Wolfenden and Murphy collected assists.

Murphy would then score the Nor’easters’ fifth goal just six minutes after that to secure the 5-0 shutout.

UNE goalie Emily Ashman recorded one save as the Nor’easters outshot the Huskies 29-3 on the afternoon. USM goaltender Taylor Canastra made 12 stops for the Huskies.

Davis was also excited to see so many players contribute during the performance.

“It’s pretty nice and it’s indicative of our season,” said Davis. “When you look at our stats you see that we’ve had a lot of different people contributing and it’s absolutely one of our strengths.”

UNE improves to 8-3-1 on the year, and hopes to finish the regular season strong as postseason play will begin in the coming weeks.

“At this point in the season we are trying to get ourselves in a playoff mindset,” said Davis. “So even though it was a regular season game we are trying to play as if it were an elimination game and carry that mindset through the rest of the regular season.”

The Nor’easters will host Commonwealth Coast Conference opponent Nichols College at 3:30 this Saturday at UNE.

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.