The University of Maine Black Bears baseball looks to continue its hot start to the 2023 season in an effort to build off of its 27-22 record last season. Even though it was their best record since 2013, they were upset by the no. 4 UMass Lowell and no. 3 New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Head coach Nick Derba is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Black Bears after being an assistant on the staff for two years. Last season he was named the America East coach of the year. In his time, Derba has amassed a record of 112-154 wins and losses with the program.

Entering this season, UMaine lost plenty of talented seniors, losing two of their biggest workhorses behind the mound. Among them was Trevor LaBonte, who finished his senior season with a 5-4 record, 5.15 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. Along with LaBonte, they lost Brett Erwin, who, in 14 games, had a 4.52 ERA and led the team in strikeouts with 74.

Along with their pitchers, the Black Bears lost two first-team All-America East players, first baseman Joe Bramanti and utility player Jordan Schulefand. Bramanti led both the team and conference in home runs with 17, team leading in both doubles with 18, RBIs with 64, and slugging percentage with .639. Schulefand led the team in stolen bases with 25 and had the best batting average with a 5.30 with 62 hits, five home runs, and a 5.20 slugging percentage. Schulefand did not just contribute to the offense; he was a relief pitcher finishing the season with a 5-2 record with a 7.66 ERA and 2.07 WHIP.

While the Black Bears did lose plenty of talent on the mound, they still returned one of their top arms from a year ago, that being second-year pitcher Caleb Leys. As a first-year, he went 3-3, had an ERA of 4.64, and a WHIP of 1.68 with 68 strikeouts in 15 games pitched. So far this season, Leys has struggled in the two games he has pitched with just over eight innings thrown overall. He has an ERA of 9.35, a WHIP of 2.31, and his record is 0-0.

Entering this season, the Black Bears only had one returning first-team All-America East player, that being third-year infielder Quinn McDaniel. Last season, McDaniel led the team in hits with 65 and had 10 home runs, along with a .569 slugging percentage just behind Bramanti. So far this season, McDaniel has continued his dominance from last season, having 12 hits, two RBIs, one home run, and a slugging percentage of .667.

Second-year first baseman/designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins returns after being named second-team All-America East, along with making the All-Rookie team as well. Last season Jenkins finished with a .284 batting average along with 48 hits, seven home runs and a slugging percentage of .485. So far this season, Jenkins has a batting average of .444 along with eight hits, two home runs and a slugging percentage of .778.

The Black Bears dropped their first game of the season against the Pitt Panthers 11-10 but rebounded to win back-to-back games 11-7 and 8-5. This past Saturday, they faced off against Monmouth University in the Penn State tourney 15-14 and 4-1.

UMaine will travel to South Carolina this weekend to face off against the Winthrop University Eagles and will open their home schedule on March 31 when they face off against their rivals UMass Lowell River Hawks at 4 p.m.

The University of Maine women’s ice hockey faced off against Merrimack College in their final weekend series of the regular season. While the Black Bears dominated the Friday game 5-2, it could not have been more opposite on Saturday as they fell 3-1.

UMaine entered the series sitting at 15-16-2 and played Merrimack last weekend, where they won 1-0 before losing to their rival UVM 3-0. Merrimack entered with a record of 7-24-2 after snapping an 11-game losing streak, winning in a penalty shootout to New Hampshire.

After neither team scored in the first period, it took less than four minutes for the Black Bears to draw first blood in the second when second-year forward Mira Seregély found fellow second-year Alyssa Wruble at the front of the net, whose wrist shot snuck right past first-year goaltender Calli Hogarth. Five minutes later, fourth-year forward Ally Trimper was able to win a fight for the puck on the boards and dish the puck to her twin sister, fellow fourth-year forward Morgan Trimper. Morgan Trimper found first-year forward Anna Caumo, who, just like Wruble, made a sliding wrist shot to go up by two.

Merrimack, however, would not go down quietly as while on the power-play, second-year forward Alexa Pongo scored on the fast-break thanks to assists from fourth-year forward Katie Kaufman and fourth-year defenseman Teghan Inglis to make it a one-score game. However, with four minutes left in the second, UMaine would answer back when first-year forward Lilli Welcke found Seregély near the right circle, who found Welckes’ twin sister, first-year Luisa Welcke, who tapped it past Hogarth for the goal and allowed the Black Bears to take a 3-1 lead going into the third.

The Warriors brought the deficit back to one less than four minutes into the third when, off the power play, first-year defenseman Payten Evans found Inglis. Inglis’ shot missed, but third-year goaltender Jorden Mattison lost it behind, resulting in fourth-year center Madison Oelkers taking the puck, skating it behind and poking it in to cut the deficit back to one.

While Merrimack struck first in the third, they posed no major threat to the Black Bears for the rest of the game as their defense clamped down. Three minutes after the Warriors scored, Wruble scored her second goal of the night as Luisa Welcke found her sister down in the corner. Lilli Welcke then found Wruble for the one-timer right in front of the net to go back up by two. With time running out, Merrimack pulled Hogarth, allowing UMaines’ fifth-year forward Grace Heiting to put the final nail in the coffin with an easy goal to seal the victory.

Third-year goalie Jorden Mattison finished the night saving 28 of 30 shots with an impressive performance overall by the defense. Hogarth also saved 28 shots out of 32, though her defense did not play nearly as well as UMaine’s.

Both teams performed well on the powerplay with them, resulting in both goals scored by the Warriors and three from the Black Bears. UMaine won the faceoff battle going 27-20, with fifth-year forward Alexandra Johnson leading the team going 7-4.

On Saturday, UMaine struggled to make their shots count, and it cost them big time as they were upset 3-1. First-year forward Ava Stevenson was the only Black Bear to score after Luisa Welcke found Johnson, but the puck ricocheted off her stick and Stevenson was right there for the lucky score. However, it was the only lucky moment for UMaine to close out their regular season on a loss.

First-year goaltender Brooklyn Oakes was the goalie for the Black Bears and saved 25 of 28 shots on net. Fourth-year goaltender Emma Gorski was terrific for the Warriors, saving 35 of 36 shots, with the one that got by her being an impossible save.

Neither team was able to score off their power play opportunities as UMaine went 0-2 and Merrimack went 0-4. The Black Bears dominated the faceoffs going 36-27, but it did not amount to anything. Johnson led the team going 12-7.

Even with this loss, UMaine qualified for the Hockey East playoffs, where they will travel to Boston College to face the Eagles in the quarter-finals Saturday Feb. 25.

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the University of Maine Women’s Basketball team faced off against the Bryant University Bulldogs. While the offense was slow to get going in the first quarter, once it clicked in the second it was smooth sailing as they cruised to a 66-43 victory and never surrendered the lead once en route to the Black Bears’ fourth-straight win.

“I just thought we played great defense,” head coach Amy Vachon said after the game. “We’ve been playing really good defense overall and I think our players are really buying into it.”

The Black Bears entered the game sitting at an 11-9 record overall and a 7-1 record in America East. While UMaine has been chasing the University of New York at Albany at the top of the standings, it has been the exact opposite for the Bulldogs as they entered with a 7-15 record overall and a 1-8 conference record, good for the bottom of the America East.

Although the Black Bears dominated the game, it was anything but dominant in the first quarter as the team struggled to make their opportunities count. While they pulled in eight rebounds, it only led to one fast-break basket while the team shot 5-14 and went 0-3 from the field. Though the offense struggled, the defense played brilliantly, holding Bryant to just 4-13 shooting as UMaine held an 11-10 lead going into the second quarter.

In the second, the Black Bear offense came alive, owning both sides of the ball while shooting 8-14 from the field. Leading by six near halftime, third-year guard Olivia Rockwood made a three-pointer that began an 11-4 run by UMaine. Her bucket was followed by second-year forward Adrianna Smith’s back-to-back buckets to give the Black Bears an 11-point lead, their first double-digit lead of the night. With less than a minute before halftime, first-year guard Jaycie Christopher made a three and along with a last-second shooting foul before the break gave the Black Bears a 33-20 lead. 

In the third, it was more of the same for UMaine with second-year guard Paula Gallego finding fellow second-year guard Sera Hodgson for a three that began a 6-1 run by the Black Bears. This sparked a scoring affair lasting the rest of the quarter and ending with first-year guard Sarah Talon slashing right through the defense with just four seconds left to give the Black Bears a 51-32 lead.

In the fourth, while the scoring was still around even, it did not matter much at all as UMaine kept cruising and matched every Bulldog basket with one of their own in order to close out the 66-43 commanding victory.

The Black Bears completely controlled the game, and Smith would lead the team with 14 points with players like Rockwood and Hodgson scoring 11 points each. 

Defensively, UMaine clamped down on the Bryant offense, holding them to just 28.3% shooting on the game and not allowing any momentum to build. On the boards, the Black Bears got 43 rebounds compared to the Bulldogs’ 30. Additionally, Smith led the team with four of the team’s nine steals.

UMaine will travel to Vermont next to face rival UVM, whom they lost to on Jan. 18 and will return home to face the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Feb. 11 at 1 p.m.

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, the MGT 490 Facility and Event Management Class held UMaine’s first-ever Sports Business summit. The event was a panel-styled speaker event that allowed attendees to hear from and network with sports business leaders from around the country. This year’s topics included sports marketing, an early career in sport management and a keynote panel focused on 50 years of Title IX and women in sports.

“The goal of the Maine Sports Business Summit was to educate, inspire and engage students as well as the UMaine community and the public on sport business topics,” Michael Nickerson, a student coordinator for the event, said.

The summit started with the school president, Joan Ferrini-Mundy, leading the conference via zoom call. She spoke about the importance of sports in the state of Maine and the impact of Black Bears’ sports as we are the only division 1 sports team in all of Maine.

In the first panel, we got to hear from three different speakers, the first of which being Allison Casiles, who is the Director of Promotions for the Portland Sea Dogs. One of the main skills she focused on was never underestimating your experience and skills. Notably the small things, such as always keeping a smile on your face, connecting with fans and always keeping a positive attitude no matter what.

Along with Casiles, we heard from the internship coordinator for the Keene Swamp Bats, Alex Gorham, who brought up the importance of time management not just throughout the workplace but also in learning the skills as students. 

The third person on the panel was Edward Youngblood, the director of athletic events for UMaine. Youngblood also stressed the importance of hands-on business modeling and leadership. 

The one thing that these three stressed more than anything though is to take every advantage you can, big or small, to advance your career. The more connections you can build when you are young the better the chances of getting work opportunities, as the job field is all about who you are connected with and how to use those connections to your advantage. 

“Don’t bank on finding a job in your hometown or state. Be able to go out and get experience and meet people,” Casiles said. 

Also in attendance was Sheila Brennan Nee, the director of the Maine Sports Commission. One of the main driving points she emphasized is knowing how to sell what you have to the best of your ability. 

This plays a factor in her work as she is part of a group trying to get a pro soccer team in Portland and she uses Maine’s natural uniqueness to her advantage as the selling point.

Along with Nee, we got to hear from Travis Misner, who is a corporate partnership and sales executive for the Carolina Panthers & Charlotte FC. Unlike the rest, who are part of small teams or a school, he is directly involved with a major sports market in Charlotte and has been a major factor in helping Charlotte reach that point. As someone who was a major factor in getting a soccer team in Charlotte, he talked about how marketing to certain brands can play a major role in success. As he stated, only 8% of fans are both Panthers and FC fans, while Charlotte FC is the most attended club out of any MLS team due in large part of knowing how to sell it.

Logan Desmond, who is the Interim Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations at UMaine, was also present at the summit. His biggest advice that he had wished he would have known when he was a student, was knowing how working in sports could be a career, not just a hobby. In the job field, the biggest advice he had to offer was to know how to advertise for the specific audience you want and use the growing platform of social media to your advantage in order to advertise.

The summit ended up being very successful, with around 100 people attending it, and the speakers were able to get the message across well and precisely. Hopefully, this can become a yearly event.

“Our hope is that the event gains more traction each year and becomes a staple in the Maine Business School,” Nickerson said.

Students, teammates and staff alike are reeling following the senseless violence that ravaged the University of Virginia’s football program in the midst of their NCAA season. The Cavaliers, who were 3-7 and coming off of a loss to Pitt on Nov. 12 were looking to turn their season around following their poor start. 

The night after the team’s loss to Pitt on Nov. 13, third-year linebacker D’Sean Perry and third-year wide receivers Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler were killed by a former football player from the university. Upon returning from a field trip, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. shot the trio on the bus they had been traveling on while also injuring third-year running back Mike Hollins and fellow student Marlee Morgan. 

Emotions were high at a press conference hosted by leaders within the athletic department, with UVA football head coach Tony Elliott and athletic director Carla Williams fielding initial questions from reporters. The two shared their own experiences with the men, with Elliott painting the group as, “beautiful, young human beings [that had] unbelievable futures ahead of them.”

Elliott announced later after the shooting that the Cavaliers would cancel their final two games of the regular season against Coastal Carolina and rivals Virginia Tech so that the players were able to travel to their fellow teammate’s funerals.

Perry was a third-year linebacker and defensive end out of Gulliver Prep high school in Miami, Florida. Perry will be remembered for his love of art and music. Family, friends and coaches described Perry as a determined and passionate young man with much potential outside the football field to do great things in this world. In his final game, he registered two tackles and was beginning to see the field more often before this tragedy occurred.

Davis Jr. was a third-year wide receiver coming out of Woodland High School in Dorchester, South Carolina. After having an impressive first year in 2020, he missed all of 2021 with a torn ACL but was putting together a good 2022 season. At his service, many talked about his greatness, not only as an athlete but as a person. While at Virginia, he was a member of the Groundskeepers at Virginia, a group focused on racial and social justice on the campus and in the community to help train police officers.

Chandler did not start his career at Virginia and had just transferred to Virginia this past year. He attended William Amos Hough high school in Huntersville, North Carolina and committed to the Wisconsin Badgers, where he played for two years before deciding to transfer closer to home for more playing time. He had not seen the field much this season but was hoping to keep working and play more next season. Many teammates from both Virginia and Wisconsin, including second-year Badgers running back Braelon Allen, expressed their sympathies to his family and the positive impact he made on their lives.

The shooter, Jones Jr., was a former football player at the school in 2018 where he recorded no stats in his one career appearance. Currently, the motive for the shootings is not known and he is currently being held without bond while facing charges of three second-degree murder charges, two malicious bodily injury charges and five counts of use of a firearm in a felony in the first offense. As of now, he has not yet entered a plea of guilty or not guilty.

We have seen an outpouring of support, with multiple fellow college teams wearing decals in remembrance of the three. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft also lent the team’s plane out so that the teammates of the deceased could travel to their funerals.

As heartbreaking as this story is, there’s hope that there’s room to educate and prepare for these kinds of tragedies. Hopefully, this will help lead to ending the violence at and on school campuses across the United States.

On Oct. 27, 2004, the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 to win the World Series. This was no ordinary World Series win, though, as it was Boston’s first World Series since 1918 and finally broke the Curse of the Bambino.

The curse started on Dec. 26, 1919, when the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000. Ruth wanted out of Boston because he wanted a salary raise and the Red Sox refused while the Yankees agreed. This trade turned out to alter the two franchises in ways that were unimaginable at the time.

This trade began the rise of the “Evil Empire,” as the Yankees never won a world series prior to the trade while, after acquiring Ruth, they won four of their next 27 World Series appearances with their new star that ushered in the most dominant run in all of sports history.

In 1946, Boston advanced to the World Series for the first time without Ruth. They lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in game seven, 4-3, after giving up a run in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied 3-3.

The first true curse moment came in 1948, when the Red Sox tied for the most regular season wins, which caused baseball’s first and only ever one-game playoff series to decide the pennant winner. The Indians crushed the Red Sox 13-5 and proceeded to win the World Series.

In 1949, Boston was only one game away from winning the pennant, but they had to beat the Yankees at least once. They lost both games they played, and the Yankees proceeded to win five consecutive World Series in a row from 1949 to 1953.

During the 1967 season, the Red Sox once again faced the Cardinals in the World Series, and just like in 1946, the series went to seven games. Once again, the Cardinals beat the Red Sox, this time 7-2, after the Red Sox ace Jim Lonborg did not play well on short rest.

In 1978, the Red Sox blew a 14-game advantage over the Yankees. But New York went on a roll and defeated Boston in a four-game series by a combined score of 42-9, with this series being affectionately called the “Boston Massacre.”

Even though the Yankees were winning the division afterward, the Red Sox won 12 out of 14 games, and they forced a one-game playoff against the Yankees. The Yankees beat Boston thanks to Bucky Dent’s three-run homerun that eventually led to a 5-4 New York victory. The Yankees went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Up until this point, the curse wasn’t solidified. However, in the 1986 World Series game six, the curse made Red Sox history. Bill Buckner let a ball go through his legs, causing New York Met Mookie Wilson to score from second, winning the Mets the game and eventually costing Boston the series.

The Red Sox reached the ALCS in the years 1988 and 1990, but they were swept by the Oakland Athletics in both years. In 1999, they faced the Yankees in the ALCS once more but fell to their arch-rivals 4-1.

Facing the Yankees in ALCS again once more in 2003, the Red Sox held a 5-2 lead in game seven, and manager Grady Little chose to keep out their ace starter Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning. The Yankees proceeded to score three runs on Martinez, which sent the game to overtime. In overtime, Aaron Boone hit a solo home run in the 11th off closer Tim Wakefield to win the pennant.

In 2004, the Red Sox were losing to the Yankees in the ALCS, down 3-0. But the Red Sox could stay alive in game four thanks to Dave Roberts stealing second in game four, followed by Bill Mueller hitting a two-run home run and David Ortiz hitting a two-run home run in the 12th to win the Red Sox the game and leading Boston to win their last three games to complete the 3-0 comeback.

After 86 years, the curse was finally broken once the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in four games in the 2004 World Series. Boston went on to win three world series in 2007, 2013 and 2018, proving that once and for all, the curse was truly broken.

The University of Maine Black Bears women’s hockey faced off against the third-ranked Northeastern University Huskies on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 as the heavy underdogs.

UMaine entered this game 3-3, coming off last weekend’s series against Long Island University, where they split the series 1-1. Northeastern entered the series undefeated with a 7-0 record, coming off of a weekend series themselves where they beat Merrimack College 5-0 and 4-1. 

In the first game of the doubleheader, the Huskies had no issue whatsoever finding the back of the net consistently. They won handily 6-1, with three of those goals coming in the third period. Fourth-year forward Katie Knoll scored two goals while fifth-year forward Maureen Murphy led the team in points with three, all off assists. UMaine’s fourth-year forward Morgan Trimper scored the team’s only goal in the second period off a power play thanks to assists from fifth-year defender Emma Lange and second-year forward Alyssa Wruble. However, it was all the Black Bears could muster against the stingy Husky defense.

In her third game, UMaine’s first-year goalie Brooklyn Oakes played well at the beginning of the game, but with the defense surrendering 39 shots on goal, it was a long night for the Black Bear defense as a whole. For Northeastern, fourth-year goalie Gwyneth Philips was terrific, saving 24 of 25 shots and making saves effortlessly all night long.

UMaine did not do well on the faceoff during the game as the Huskies beat them 30-21. Fifth-year forward Ally Johnson had the most faceoff wins with 11 but also lost 11 simultaneously, while Northeastern’s second-year forward Taze Thompson led the Huskies with 11 faceoff wins out of 17. The Black Bears only had one penalty all game compared to Northeastern’s four but it did little to change the result of the game.

After their dominance in the first game, the Huskies came into Saturday’s contest expecting to get the same result, since it’s been the norm for them all season. However, it was far from a normal game as the Black Bears pulled off a shocking 1-0 victory. Fifth-year forward Grace Heiting scored the game’s only goal with almost nine minutes to go in the first period, as her slapshot got past Philips. Heiting was assisted by second-year defenseman Courtney Colarullo and first-year forward Luisa Welcke. Thanks to some fantastic defense, UMaine held on to the one-score lead the whole game which led to the upset victory.

After not playing on Friday, third-year goalie Jorden Mattison was nothing short of spectacular against the Huskies, making terrific save after terrific save. Philips was good as well, saving 31 of 32 shots, but because of how well UMaine played defensively, it was one mistake too many.

Along with dominating on defense, the Black Bears limited their mistakes to almost none. As well as not making many mistakes, UMaine won the faceoff battle 31-25 with first-year forward Lilli Welcke going an impressive 12-17.

UMaine will travel next weekend to face off against the University of Connecticut on Friday and Saturday and will return home to face their rivals, the University of Vermont, for the weekend series on Nov. 4 and 5.

On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, the University of Maine football team faced off against the Monmouth University Hawks. While the Black Bears may have entered the game as the underdogs, they did not play like it. They capitalized on the Hawks’ mistakes while limiting their own, leading to the 38-28 upset victory.

“I’m really proud of our team with their ability just to come out every day and continue to work to get better,” coach Jordan Stevens said. “The past two weeks have been our best weeks at practice, and that has really shown in games.”

UMaine entered this game after getting their first victory of the season against the Hampton University Pirates last weekend 31-24. Monmouth entered this game on a five-game winning streak, coming off a 38-31 victory over the University at Albany Great Danes.

Monmouth started the game off strong on their first drive. They had no issues driving down the field with big play after big play that resulted in third-year quarterback Tony Muskett finding fourth-year wide receiver Dre Tucker open in the endzone to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead early.

After forcing the Black Bears to punt, Monmouth got the ball back but quickly gave the ball right back to UMaine. Third-year defensive lineman Khairi Manns was able to strip the ball from Muskett that got recovered by second-year defensive back Shakur Smalls. Six plays later, the Black Bears made the Hawks pay for the turnover as fourth-year quarterback Joe Fagnano threw a perfect jump ball to fourth-year tight end Shawn Bowman to tie the game at seven.

Following the touchdown, neither offense was able to score again as both teams traded punts, along with UMaine failing on a fourth-down conversion. After forcing a Monmouth punt for the third time in a row, the Black Bears scored once more after third-year running back Freddie Brock was able to break tackles and outran the defense for a 33-yard touchdown to go up 14-7.

After back-to-back punts, the Hawks got the ball back, but they were not able to hold onto it for long. On their fifth play, Muskett’s pass got jumped by second-year defensive back Kahzir ‘Buggs’ Brown, who easily scored from 30 yards to bring the score to 21-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, UMaine shot themselves in the foot as they were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct, giving Monmouth the ball at the 43 yard-line. Muskett made the Black Bears pay for the penalty after finding fourth-year wide receiver Assanti Kearney for 12 yards. Muskett then found third-year wide receiver Dymere Brown who got past the defender and scored from 33 yards out to make it 21-14 going into halftime.

After the break, the Black Bears got the ball back, and it only took three plays to get on the board again. On the second play of the half, Fagnano found fourth-year wide receiver Kobay White wide open on the sideline, where he outran the defender but got tripped up after his 77-yard play ended only one yard from the endzone. One play later, fifth-year running back Elijah Barnwell punched it in to make the score 28-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, Monmouth’s return man first-year running back Makhi Green had the ball punched out by second-year linebacker Vince Thomas and it was recovered by second-year linebacker Latrell Couchman. Along with an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on the Hawks, the Black Bears were set up with a first down on the 14. Three plays later, UMaine once again made Monmouth pay for their mistakes as Fagnano found third-year wide receiver Montigo Moss on a back-shoulder pass that Moss caught one-handed and was able to fight his way in for the score to give the Black Bears a 21-point lead, bringing the score to 35-14.

The Hawks were able to score on their next drive after converting both a third and fourth down to keep the drive alive. Two plays after converting the fourth down, Muskett found Kearney in the endzone from 43 yards out and, even though the defender was all over him, was able to pull it down for the score. Curiously, Monmouth went for it on the two-point conversion, but Miller was not able to get in, and the score remained 35-20.

After forcing UMaine to punt, Monmouth drove down the field and were faced with a fourth and one on the six yard-line. The Hawks chose to go for it out of their Wildcat formation with fifth-year running back Owen Wright running it. However, the Black Bears were ready for it and fourth-year defensive lineman Josh Lezin and company were able to stuff him for no gain ending their drive.

UMaine was able to kick a field goal on the drive following the stop after second-year kicker Cole Baker made it from 35 yards out. Monmouth was able to score on their next drive as White scored and, along with the two-point conversion, made it 38-28. However, the onside kick failed, which effectively ended the game.

Fagnano finished the game going 14-23 for 181 and two touchdowns. Brock led the team in rushing with 10 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. White led the team with six catches for 115 yards.

The defense as a whole was terrific all game long. Second-year running back Jaden Shirden entered the game as the CAA leader in yards with 923 and was held to just 85 yards in an impressive showing by the Black Bears defense.

UMaine will travel to New York next to face Stony Brook University on Saturday, Oct. 22, and will return home on Oct. 29 to face the University of Richmond.

“We’re playing more together. We’re complementing each other better than we were at the beginning of the year,” Stevens said. “We’re continuing to build. We’re going to enjoy the win today and then come back tomorrow.”

In their first conference game the University of Maine Black Bears men’s football team faced off against the Villanova University Wildcats on Saturday, Oct. 1. While UMaine was able to make it somewhat competitive in the second half they gave up too many big plays, and drives stalling out because of penalties became too big of a hurdle to overcome and they fell 45-20.

“Stopping their offense was going to be important, and we didn’t do that. Offensively, we had our moments. Some of it has to do with penalties that got us off to a slow start that gets us behind the change. But when we were penalty free, we were able to move the ball,” head coach Jordan Stevens said after the game.

UMaine entered this game 0-3, coming off of a 38-17 loss to FBS opponent Boston College while the Wildcats entered this game 2-2, coming off of a 49-42 loss to Monmouth University.

Villanova struck first on their first drive thanks to big back-to-back runs from third-year quarterback Connor Watkins on a scramble for 21 yards and a pitch reverse to Rayjoun Pringle for 19. After the two big runs, however, the Black Bears were able to hold strong on defense and force Villanova to kick a field goal that fifth-year kicker Matthew Macurio booted through from 39 yards out to make it 3-0 Wildcats.

After a holding penalty stopped UMaine in their tracks Villanova got the ball back with excellent field position at the 41. The Wildcats quickly moved down the field thanks to fourth-year running back TD Ayo-Durojaiye, which set up a five-yard rushing touchdown from fifth-year running back Jalen Jackson to give Villanova the 10-0 lead.

UMaine was finally able to get on the board at the beginning of the second quarter thanks to a 10-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in QB Joe Fagnano finding third-year wide receiver Montigo Moss in the end zone. Moss made a ridiculous one-handed catch after “Mossing” the defender, a term that was created in reference to his father, Randy Moss. The catch cut into the Wildcats’ lead by three.

Following the Black Bears’ score, the Wildcats responded with a long 12-play drive that took up over seven minutes of the clock. This was highlighted by a Watkins run where it looked like he was about to get sacked twice but he avoided the arm tackles and ran for 15 yards and the first. Nine plays later Villanova capitalized on UMaine’s poor tackling and Watkins found fourth-year wide receiver Jaaron Hayek in the middle of the endzone to go up 17-7.

After a four-and-out by the Black Bears the Wildcats responded much quicker this time as Watkins found a wide-open Hayek after fourth-year defensive back Benito Speight tripped in man-to-man coverage on Hayek. This allowed Hayek to walk into the endzone untouched from 83 yards out to give the Wildcats a commanding 24-7 lead.

UMaine was able to score on their next drive. Fagnano’s pass should have been intercepted by third-year defensive back Jalen Goodman but the Black Bears’ caught a massive break as it went through his hands and right into the hands of fifth-year wide receiver Zavier Scott. Scott easily walked into the endzone to bring the deficit to 14 right before halftime.

While the Black Bears were able to score, they left too much time on the clock, which gave the Wildcats the chance to answer back. Thanks to big catches from Hayek and first-year wide receiver Jaylen Sanchez, Watkins found Hayek once again wide open for an 18-yard touchdown and Hayek’s third of the day to bring the score 31-14 at halftime.

The third quarter did not start off any better for the Black Bears after they were forced to punt again. Villanova capitalized on UMaine’s mistakes as Watkins found Hayek wide open once more, burning Speight this time for a 42-yard touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 38-14 lead.

After trading punts with Villanova UMaine was able to drive back down the field and score one more touchdown. On the first play of the fourth quarter Stevens called for Fagnano to hand the ball off to fifth-year running back Elijah Barnwell. Instead of running it, Barnwell lined up to throw and caught the Wildcats off guard as he was able to find fourth-year tight end Shawn Bowman wide open for the touchdown. UMaine decided to go for two in order to cut the deficit to 16 points, but Fagnano’s pass fell incomplete and the score remained 38-20.

Villanova was forced to punt on their next drive and the Black Bears looked like they were going to be able to make it a game; however, they were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which forced the offense to start on the nine-yard line. Fagnano’s ensuing pass was read perfectly by Goodman and he took it to the house for his first career interception, which was the final nail in the coffin as the Black Bears fell 45-20.

Fagnano finished the day going 24-38 for 192 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. Barnwell led the team in rushing with nine carries for 53 yards, and Bowman led the team with seven receptions for 55 yards and a score.

“We need to do a better job tackling. Today, we were not as effective. You could point to a couple of things on each side of the ball that really played into the outcome of the game,” head coach Jordan Stevens said.

UMaine will travel to Virginia next week to take on the Hampton University Pirates on Oct. 8 and will return home to face off against Monmouth University on Oct. 15.

On Saturday, Aug. 10, 2022, the University of Maine Black Bears faced off against the Colgate University Raiders at Alfond Stadium. After struggling offensively for the first half, the Black Bears were able to make a comeback in the game but fell just short after second-year kicker Cole Baker’s field goal came up short, resulting in the Black Bears 21-18 loss.

“We dug ourselves a hole in the first half just by [making] mistakes offensively, and it really made it hard for us to come back in,” head coach Jordan Stevens said after the game. “Obviously, we came up short, but a lot of positive takeaways from the second half.”

UMaine came into this game off a 41-0 loss to FBS opponent, the University of New Mexico Lobos. This game also marks coach Stevens’ first home game back with his alma mater. Colgate entered this game following a loss to FBS opponent Stanford 41-10, so both teams were eager to try and get their first win.

The game started slow on both sides, with both teams’ offenses failing to get anything in the first quarter. While both offenses were able to gain yards, neither side could keep any momentum. The Black Bears offense had multiple drives stall due to penalties while UMaine’s swarming defense stuffed the Raiders. 

On the Black Bears’ first possession of the quarter during the second quarter, coach Stevens decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 on the Raiders side of the field. Even though UMaine had called for fourth-year quarterback Joe Fagnano one play earlier to run a quarterback sneak, they decided to gamble and hand the ball off to fifth-year running back Elijah Barnwell from deep behind Fagnano, and he was stuffed in the backfield.

After stuffing UMaine on fourth down, the Raiders made the Black Bears pay for not getting the first down on their drive as the Raiders scored after an 11-play drive that ate up over five minutes of the clock in a touchdown run up the middle from second-year quarterback Michael Brescia.

After Colgate was able to score, both offenses could not move the ball effectively for the rest of the half as both teams traded three and outs to end the half with the Raiders clinging to a 7-0 lead in a defensive slugfest.

The beginning of the third quarter did not start any better for the Black Bears as after trading punts with the Raiders, Colgate got the ball with excellent field position, and they quickly capitalized on it on their first play of the drive. Brescia threw a backward pass to fourth-year wide receiver Garrett Oakley who proceeded to throw the football 34 yards downfield to an open first-year wide receiver Brady Hutchinson. This, along with a 15-yard run from Brescia, set up a one-yard rushing touchdown from Brescia to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter.

After giving up another touchdown the Black Bears finally responded with a 10-play 60-yard drive that got UMaine all the way down to the 15-yard line. This was thanks to a very good efficiency by Fagnano down the field and a 17-yard connection to second-year wide receiver Tyrese Baptiste. However, the Black Bears stalled and were forced to kick a field goal for their first points of the season. This brought the score to 14-3.

After forcing a punt from the Raiders, UMaine was able to start with a fantastic field position. Starting at their own 45, Fagnano was able to hit fourth-year tight end Shawn Bowman with back-to-back passes going for 11 and 28 yards to end the quarter. Two plays later, the Black Bears benefited from a pass interference penalty that set them up with first and goal, and two plays later, Fagnano ran in UMaine’s first touchdown of the season from six yards out, cutting the Raiders’ lead to just four.

It took only five drives before a team scored again, but this time, it was by the Raiders. They spread five receivers out wide as a decoy and called for Brescia to run it in himself. The middle was wide open, and Bresica easily scored from 68 yards out, giving Colgate a 21-10 lead.

Just like the last time the Raiders scored, UMaine responded with a 10-play 75-yard drive that resulted in Fagnano finding third-year receiver Montigo Moss in the endzone from seven yards out. The Black Bears went for two, hoping to get a chance for a field goal in the future, and Fagnano found fifth-year receiver Zavier Scott in the endzone, making the score 21-18.

UMaine got the football back after forcing yet another punt from Colgate, and they were able to move back down the field. The Black Bears only had one timeout left and decided to drive the ball. This decision came back to haunt UMaine as Baker’s kick from 44 yards out to tie the game came up short on fourth down and the Black Bears dropped their second game 21-18.

After having a subpar first half, Fagnano was able to settle in and helped the Black Bears turn around the offense in the second half, with him going 25-39 for 246 yards and one touchdown. Barnwell got the bulk of the carries with 17 carries for 66 yards while also leading the team in receiving with five catches for 31 yards.

“We have to learn from the first half and really build on the second half,” coach Stevens said, reflecting on today’s game. “I think we have a lot of pieces here to be successful.”

UMaine will travel to face FBS opponent Boston College next Saturday, Sept. 17, at 7:30.