The University of Maine field hockey team saw their record fall to 9-8 after dropping a 2-1 decision to the University of California Golden Bears Sunday morning. The Golden Bears, 2-6 in road games this year, improved to 6-10.
California came on strong in the first half, scoring both of their goals. The first came at the 28:13 mark off of a penalty corner. Junior forward Lara Kruggel scored her seventh goal of the season, while sophomore defenseman Natalie Gibbens and senior midfielder Shannon Elmitt were credited with the assists.
Less than four minutes later, the Golden Bears added to their lead. Sophomore forward Nicole Wallstedt put one past UMaine sophomore goaltender Natasha Ford for her second goal of the year, with the assist going to senior forward Jordan O’Reilly.
With just over 11 minutes left in the half, UMaine junior forward Annabelle Hamilton took it upon herself to score an unassisted goal, cutting the deficit to one. The Golden Bears attempted to clear the ball, but Hamilton intercepted it and rifled a shot past junior netminder Courtney Hendrickson for her tenth goal of the year.
Hamilton has had a great season, leading the team in both points and goals with 10 and 26, respectively. She is part of a strong junior class that accounts for 59 of their 147 goals this season.
Though the second half came and went without either team lighting the scoreboard, it was not devoid of action.
In the last eight minutes, the Black Bear offense came alive. They put pressure on the California defense, peppering Hendrickson with five shots without allowing a shot on their own goal. Hendrickson stood strong, however, saving each shot she was tasked with.
Ford saved four of the six shots that came her way, while Hendrickson saved 9 of 10 to lead her team to a victory.
While their record is less than stellar, it does not reflect the talent of California. Only two of their losses were by more than two scores this season, with two of those defeats coming in double overtime.
The Golden Bears return home to play Stanford University in their final home game of the year on Thursday, Oct. 31.
The Black Bears will travel to Providence College Oct. 28 before returning home to finish off their regular season Nov. 2 in an American East game against the University of Vermont.
UMaine is within striking distance of the first-place University of New Hampshire Wildcats and will look to close the gap in the final two contests before postseason play begins.