The University of Maine field hockey team earned a loss and a win over the weekend to move to 6-5 overall on the season and 1-1 in America East. Their next contest comes against archrival University of New Hampshire Oct. 11.

No. 12 Albany bests UMaine 2-1 in America East showdown

The Black Bears fell to the No. 12 University at Albany Great Danes by a score of 2-1 Saturday afternoon in an America East matchup. Albany sees their record improve to 10-1 on the season and 1-0 in America East.

The Great Danes came out firing from the first whistle, putting three clean shots on goal in the first 2 minutes of play. While they were getting consistent good looks, UMaine sophomore goalie Natasha Ford stayed calm and turned away each shot to keep the game from getting away early.

Albany struck first when sophomore midfielder Fiori Van Rijswijk took a botched penalty corner and put it home to give Albany a 1-0 lead. It was Rijswijk’s 10th point and second goal of the season.

As the first half came to a close, freshman midfielder Paula Heuser danced effortlessly through several Black Bear defenders following a penalty corner to give Albany the 2-0 advantage. It was her ninth goal and 23rd point of the season, good enough for second on the team.

The Black Bears were sparked by letting up their second goal and responded by playing aggressive offense. They forced a penalty corner and capitalized.

The corner was passed twice and one-timed home right in front of the net by sophomore midfielder Nicole Sevey for her 14th point of the season. Fellow sophomore midfielder Marissa Shaw was credited with the assist on the tally that brought UMaine within one going into half time.

UMaine’s defense would buckle down in the second half to deny Albany an insurance marker, but could not find the twine themselves. The Great Danes pressed the attack in the second and held on for the 2-1 victory.

Heuser was named America East Rookie of the Week in early September when she notched a goal and three assists in her first two collegiate games.

“I got a good look and was glad to score for the team today,” Heuser said after the game.

Albany head coach Phil Sykes was happy with his team’s performance but knew going in it would be a tough contest.

“It’s tricky playing conference teams,” he said. “The game was a battle and back-and-forth for most of the time, but it was good to get the win.”

Albany has enjoyed a great season, outscoring their opponents by a 47-9 margin.

“Albany’s a very good, solid team,” said UMaine head coach Josette Babineaux. “We need to find the confidence to break through close games like this and play through the pressure.”

Aviani’s overtime marker propels UMaine past Bryant

UMaine bounced back on Sunday in dramatic fashion to topple the Bryant University Bulldogs on the heels of freshman forward Danielle Aviani’s overtime game-winner. Bryant falls to 7-4 on the season with the loss.

Extra time was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams fighting hard at both ends of the pitch. A little less than 6 minutes into the period, junior midfielder Annabelle Hamilton fed Aviani, who spun and fired a backhand past two Bryant defenders and senior goaltender Megan Hancock to clinch the Black Bear victory. Her teammates mobbed her in celebration before lining up to shake hands.

“It was an unreal feeling, overtime is very exciting. Even though we weren’t getting the bounces at times in the game it was great to get that goal at the end.”

Bryant came into the game on a two-game losing streak following a seven-game win streak and were looking to spark another string of Ws against UMaine.

The first half was dominated by the UMaine offense, but neither side could gain a real advantage and the score was tied at zero going into the half.

Four minutes into the second half, Bryant senior forward Kayleigh Ballantyne took a pass from junior midfielder Abigail Armstrong near the left side of the cage and sent it past Ford to break the scoring drought.

The Black Bears struck back 20 minutes later when junior forward Holly Stewart sent a pass to freshman midfielder Sydney Veljacic near the top of the circle. Veljacic shot a laser past Hancock for her second goal of the season to tie the game at one.

The Black Bears’ celebration was short-lived, however. Less than 2 minutes later, the Bulldogs scored off a penalty corner to retake the lead. Senior defender MaKayla Hancock put it home for her 10th goal of the season off an assist by Ballantyne, her second point of the afternoon.

Things looked bleak for the Black Bears as the clock wound down and fans started to pack up, thinking the game was settled.

With 14 seconds left they pushed the ball up the field and forced a penalty corner as time expired. The play clock had hit zero but they were allowed to finish out the corner.

In a last-ditch effort, junior forward Becca Paradee passed it around the circle and onto the stick of sophomore forward Cassidy Svetek, who scored to send the game to overtime. Aviani was given a helper on the game-tying goal before capping the scoring herself 5 minutes into overtime.

This was an important game for UMaine, as it came one day after their close loss to Albany.

“For a young group, they responded well to the pressure. We came back twice and then to go ahead in overtime showed great resilience,” Babineaux said after the game.

Bryant head coach Shaunessy Saucier, a UMaine graduate and former two-time field hockey captain, felt her team was in it the entire time but just couldn’t find a way to come out on top.

“Our plan was a small possession game and for the most part we did that. We made some mistakes and Maine capitalized on that,” she said.

The Bulldogs travel to New York to take on Siena College Oct. 11.