By Anthony Panciocco
The University of Maine field hockey team traveled to Burlington, Vt. for the Catamount Classic this past weekend. They took on No. 5 University of Virginia in the first game Saturday morning, followed by Ivy Leaguer Brown University Sunday afternoon. The Black Bears see their record move to 3-4 on the season following the weekend split.
The Black Bears dropped their first game of the weekend to Virginia 2-0 in the two teams’ first matchup since 1986. The Cavaliers have been a powerhouse recently and a formidable team to play. UVA remains a perfect 6-0 on the season with the victory.
The first goal came just 1:46 into the game when UVA junior midfielder Jess Orrett fired a shot in the circle that deflected off a UMaine stick and passed sophomore goaltender Natasha Ford. It was Orrett’s first point of the season and gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead early on.
The next hour of play was relatively quiet. At the 69:22 mark, UVA senior forward Elly Buckley took a penalty shot that forced a rebound and was recovered by fellow senior forward Hadley Bell, who forced Ford to make another save before freshman midfielder Lucy Hyams finally put it home for the 2-0 Cavalier advantage.
UVA outshot the Black Bears 17-10 and really put the pressure on in the second half, where they led 13-5 in shots. The Cavaliers also led in penalty corners with a count of 9-5.
Both goalies played well, with UVA junior netminder Jenny Johnstone saving four shots on goal to continue her hot start and improve to a perfect 6-0 on the season. She has an unbelievable 1.66 goals against average on the season.
Ford saved four of six shots in a solid performance for the Black Bears despite the loss.
UMaine rebounded big time in their second game of the weekend on Sunday, topping Brown University 6-0. Brown came in with a 1-1 record having only played twice before Sunday’s matchup with the Black Bears.
UMaine junior forward Holly Stewart got things going early on, firing an unassisted goal past Brown junior goaltender Shannon McSweeney to put the Black Bears on top just 3:45 into the game.
At the 12:27 mark, sophomore midfielder Marissa Shaw took a pass from sophomore forward Cassidy Svetek and deflected it home to give UMaine some breathing room and a 2-0 lead.
It was 21 minutes before another goal was scored, this time by junior midfielder Annabelle Hamilton on an unassisted effort. UMaine would tally their fourth goal shortly after on Stewart’s second score of the game. Freshman midfielder Sydney Veljacic sent a centering pass in front of the goal where Stewart was waiting to put the Black Bears up 4-0.
UMaine began the second half in similar fashion to the way they ended the first. Hamilton scored unassisted once again to give UMaine the five-goal lead. Hamilton’s 12th point of the season moves her into second place on the team in scoring behind Svetek.
UMaine’s final score came off the stick of Shaw, who wristed a shot off a defender in the 58th minute to cap UMaine’s victory at 6-0. Shaw’s second goal of the contest gives her ten points on the season, good for fourth on the team.
Their victory Sunday was their best of the season, led by relentless offense and a stifling defense. Offensively, UMaine’s 45 shot barrage was led by Veljacic with 10 and Hamilton with 7. Thirty-one of those shots were on goal, a good depiction of just how dominant the Black Bears were on Sunday.
UMaine took advantage of McSweeney on Sunday, who has struggled so far this year. The Brown netminder had allowed six goals in two games prior to Sunday. UMaine also led in penalty corners 7-1.
In a game that UMaine dominated with their offense, their defense was a brick wall on the other end of the field. They allowed just one shot on goal to help coax Ford to her easiest shutout of the season.
UMaine will have a full week off before they return to home to take on Central Michigan University Sept. 22 at 1 p.m.