The University of Maine women’s soccer team finishes the regular season as the 3-seed in America East with a record of 8-5-4 overall and 5-2-1 in conference following their victory against the University at Albany on Thursday and their loss to Stony Brook University on Sunday.
The Black Bears host Binghamton University in the America East quarterfinals Thursday, Oct. 31, with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
Achille nets game-winner over Albany
UMaine defeated conference foe Albany Thursday night in Albany, N.Y. by a score of 2-1. Both teams combined to score all three goals in the first nine minutes of action.
Albany falls to 1-14-1 on the year overall and 0-6-1 in America East play.
The Black Bears grabbed an early 1-0 lead just 2:01 into play when senior defensive back Maggie Malone gathered the ball after a deflection in the box and ripped a shot past Albany junior goalkeeper Jackie Ubert for her third goal of the season.
The Great Danes tied things up just six minutes later when sophomore forward Kari Quinn got a chance on a breakaway and netted a goal past UMaine sophomore netminder Lauren Swant. Freshman defensive back Alexa Schneider tallied the assist on Quinn’s goal.
UMaine responded less than 30 seconds later when sophomore forward Eve L’Abbe sent a cross to sophomore midfielder Charlene Achille who dribbled into the box uncontested. Without hesitation, Achille fired a shot that soared past Ubert for her fourth goal of the year.
In the second half of regulation, neither team tallied another goal despite several scoring opportunities.
UMaine outshot Albany 18-7 in the game. Swant made two saves in net for the Black Bears and improves to 8-4-3 in net this season. Ubert made two saves in goal for Albany.
Pratt’s game-winner in double overtime spoils UMaine senior day
It was only fitting that the last game of the regular season was a double overtime thriller, and that its outcome ultimately determined the winner of the America East Conference.
UMaine fell to Stony Brook 2-1 in double overtime Sunday afternoon on senior day. The heartbreaking loss for the Black Bears drops them from first in the conference standings to third. Stony Brook remains at second in the standings, while the University of Maryland-Baltimore County moves into first, owning the tiebreaker against Stony Brook by defeating them in a double overtime bout that took place on Oct. 17.
Stony Brook ends the regular season with a record of 11-5-1, 6-2-0 in conference.
The Seawolves netted the game-winner just under three minutes into the second overtime. Sophomore defender Priscilla Wiggins made a pass through the UMaine box that deflected off the body of a defender and into the air. There to recover the leftovers was freshman midfielder Elise Pratt, who headed the ball past the outreaching arms of Swant to lift the Seawolves to the 2-1 win.
UMaine outshot Stony Brook 28-9 on the afternoon. Redshirt junior netminder Ashley Castanio was terrific in net for Stony Brook, however, making 13 saves and improving to 11-5-1 on the year. Swant made one save in net for the Black Bears, and falls to 8-5-3 on the season.
The game nearly ended in the first overtime. UMaine senior midfielder Lisa Bijman had a great scoring opportunity when she rifled a shot from inside the box at Castanio. Castanio made a tremendous save on the play, laying out and deflecting the Bijman shot with her right leg, effectively killing any Black Bear momentum heading into the second overtime.
After the festivities of senior day had concluded, the action began when a Stony Brook direct kick struck the cross bar. Seawolves sophomore defender Stella Norman controlled the rebound and sent a shot past Swant for her third tally of the year to put Stony Brook up 1-0.
The Black Bears answered the call at the 55-minute mark when L’Abbe received a pass upfield and rocketed a shot from outside the box that nailed the goal post before ricocheting into the net for her fourth goal of the season.
Before action began on Sunday afternoon, UMaine honored its senior players Haley Lipinski, Bijman, Meaghan Bradica, Maggie Malone and Nikki Misener for their years of service as members of the women’s soccer team and the UMaine community.