Normally, a team searching for an offensive spark will look for ways to beat the other team’s goaltender. But for the University of Maine club lacrosse team, their scoring boost came from inside their own crease when they took on Southern Connecticut State University April 6.

Senior goaltender Cullen Finn stepped out of the net and into the offensive zone against the Owls, notching a goal and five assists to lead the Black Bears to a 13-12 win over SCSU — their first victory of the season.

With only two substitutes available and senior midfielder Nat Williams sidelined with a thumb injury, head coach John O’Connell went with an unorthodox solution. Finn — considered one of the top goalies in Division III lacrosse with a 7.75 goals against average and a .708 save percentage — said he enjoyed his time in the midfield despite never playing the position for any length of time before.

“It was out of the blue,” he said. “I was kind of forced into the situation, but I had planned for that [previously]; I was ready to go.

“I was excited,” added Finn. “I’ve watched kids score for 21 years of my life, from the other viewpoint. It was just nice to go out there and play a game from a totally different perspective.”

Although the Black Bears’ 1-4 season hasn’t met expectations, Finn hopes his versatility on the field can get the team going in time to make a playoff push. The Kennebunk native says the team’s season-opening loss to the University of New Haven March 2 got the team off to a rough start that’s been hard to claw back from, especially in the offensive third of the field.

“It’s been disappointing thus far, but it’s also encouraging at the same time because I see the potential that we have,” Finn said. “Our defense is doing well — we’ve put up good numbers especially against some good teams. If we could just get our offense to click and start turning [our] transition opportunities into goals instead of dropped balls or thrown-out-of-bound passes, [our record] should improve.”

Finn was recruited out of Kennebunk High School to play lacrosse for Clarkson University in New York, playing there for a year before transferring to UMaine. Although the civil engineering student is an academic senior, he retains sophomore eligibility in lacrosse. He said he plans to push back his graduation to play another season while working on a minor in business administration next school year.

“It was more academic based,” Finn said of his decision to transfer after one season with the Golden Snipes. “I went to Clarkson focused on getting my degree in civil engineering. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and UMaine’s renowned for their engineering program, and, being closer to home, it was kind of a no brainer for me.”

The senior — who says he originally grew up a hockey fan, idolizing some of the greats, such as Ray Bourque, Bobby Orr and Patrick Roy — plans to move to Miami after he graduates to pursue a career at a civil engineering firm. Although the lacrosse program has retained a shaky status since its inception in 2003, Finn says he is optimistic that it will grow in the years to come.

“I think the program is headed in the right direction, and I think it has all the potential in the world to grow with all the talent that’s out there and all the growth in the sport, especially in the Maine area,” he said.

Finn hoped the Black Bears could keep their momentum going after the win against SCSU. Although UMaine lost to Central Connecticut State University by a score of 18-7 Saturday — pushing their record to 1-5 — the captain still remains confident heading into their final regular season matchup against division-leading Stonehill College.

“We’re still a young team trying to figure it out,” Finn said. “Nothing that’s happened up until matters. It’s a clean slate, and that’s how we have to go in [to each game].”

It isn’t certain where Finn will be on the field when the Black Bears travel to Massachusetts to take on the Skyhawks April 21, but you can be certain he’ll take it in stride.

The University of Maine’s Club Lacrosse team is looking for some chemistry to build off as they enter the second half of the season. Despite an 0-4 start to 2013 and the program’s limited success since its inception in 2003, first year head coach John O’Connell is optimistic this year’s squad can establish some momentum for the program moving forward, after they beat the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday.

O’Connell says it’s been tough for UMaine to establish a consistent lacrosse program, given the amount of turnover that comes along with being a club team. This year’s roster — the core of which is made up of 11 freshmen and five sophomores — features many new faces, making this first year coach’s task of building team chemistry that much harder.

“[The youth] definitely plays into it,” O’Connell said. “Seventeen or 18 players from last year’s team aren’t on the team this year. It’s tough because we haven’t had a lot of time for team chemistry and things like that because there’s so many new people, so many guys that weren’t here last year.

“We are a club team, so there are times where guys miss a practice here and there,” he added. “We have to have more of a commitment — which is tough at the club level — but you never know where it could be in a year or two.”

The Warner University alum said he’s needed to alter his expectations for the squad, given how difficult it is to build a consistent lacrosse program in this state.

“It’s definitely a tough, tough place to play because not a lot of high schools in Maine have lacrosse, and we play a lot of teams from New York and Connecticut [that do],” he said.

“It’s not an area where we have a lot of high school talent that’s coming in every year, and we’re in a tough league and we play a lot of good teams from New England and New York,” he continued. “So for me, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. My expectation [now] is to do the best we can do, take it one game at a time and try to win.”

O’Connell said he’s been able to rely on his four captains to carry the load for the Black Bears so far this season. UMaine is led by senior goaltender Cullen Finn, who features a 7.75 goals against average and a .708 save percentage; senior midfielder Nat Williams; sophomore defensive midfielder Henry Gibson; and sophomore defender Zach Yocum.

O’Connell says he will need more of the same from these four if the Black Bears hope to contain the Owls’ potent offensive attack led by sophomore midfielder Colmann Dobb — who has 13 points in three games this season — and freshman attacker Augie Bonadies.

The Black Bears have found the back of the net just 15 times in four games this season, something that will need to improve if they want to keep up with the more offensively gifted teams they face. O’Connell says he has been impressed by his team’s defense and goaltending so far, but that it will be tough to compete if they can’t score on a more regular basis.

“We need to score more. I feel like we can neutralize other teams with our defense, but the challenge will be [putting points on the board],” he said.

Both teams were looking for their first win of 2013 Saturday afternoon. Although the Black Bears are 2-0 all-time against the Owls — that includes their 16-3 victory last season — O’Connell said past meetings won’t be a factor this time around. The focus needs to be on establishing a positive trend for the second half of the season.

“[The mentality] needs to be, wipe the slate clean and think of it as, not a new season, but ‘Part B’ of the season,” he said. “That needs to be our frame of mind. Take one game at a time and do whatever we need to do to play our best. And if we play our best, we should win.”

UMaine went on to beat Southern Connecticuit State on Saturday by a score of 13-12.  Statistics were not available at time of press.

UMaine will travel to Connecticut one more time to take on the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils April 13. Game time for that contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The University of Maine softball team began its conference play on the road with a three-game series against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers over the weekend. The Black Bears split the doubleheader on Saturday before winning the finale on Sunday to improve their record to 5-26 on the year, 2-1 in America East. The Retrievers see their record slip to 7-21 overall, 1-2 in the AEC.

UMaine senior first baseman Hilary Kane went 6-11, with six RBIs during the three games, and junior pitcher Hannah Hill added five RBI to go along with a win on the mound in Game 2 to pace the Black Bears over the weekend.

UMBC freshman outfielder Bridget O’Malley went 5-12, with six runs scored, and sophomore catcher Taylor Hall went 5-10, with five runs scored against UMaine to lead the Retrievers.

UMaine, UMBC Split Doubleheader to Open America East Play

The Black Bears and Retrievers began conference play with plenty of offense Saturday afternoon, combining to score 24 total runs during the doubleheader. UMBC took Game 1 by a score of 4-2, while the Black Bears earned the split with an 11-7 victory in Game 2.

Kane plated the first run of the day, with a double in the top of the first inning of Game 1 off UMBC senior starter Heather Brown. Sophomore outfielder Jessica Burk scored from second on the two-bagger, after she reached on a fielder’s choice before advancing on a walk by junior catcher Jean Stevens.

O’Malley tied the game at one in the bottom of the first, with her first collegiate home run — a solo bomb to left off UMaine senior starter Beth Spoehr.

Spoehr and Brown would settle in after the first, holding both teams scoreless until the sixth inning. Brown went the distance, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out three in seven innings. Spoehr went 5.2 innings on the mound for the Black Bears, giving up four earned on four hits while striking out a pair of Retrievers in the loss.

Stevens put the Black Bears up 2-1 in the top of the sixth on a solo shot to center, her America East-leading seventh home run of the season.

The Retrievers would rally in the bottom half of the inning, however, scoring three runs to stretch out to a 4-2 lead.

Hall’s two-run homer — her sixth of the season — put UMBC up by one after O’Malley drew a walk to begin the inning. Spoehr was pulled in favor of sophomore reliever Alexis Bogdanovich with two gone in the inning after UMBC junior shortstop Caitlin Chance drew another walk. Chance was driven home by sophomore third baseman Courtney Reinfeld’s double down the left field line to put the Retrievers up 4-2.

UMaine was able to get a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh, after a walk and a two-out single up the middle by freshman utility player Makaila Kowalsky, but the Black Bears could not bring anyone home. Brown would escape the jam to secure the 4-2 victory.

UMaine would take game two of the doubleheader 11-7 after a six-run rally in the top of the ninth inning.

The Black Bears jumped out to an early lead once again, this time on a two-run home run by Kane in the top of the first after Stevens drew a walk. Kane went 3-5, with four RBI and two runs scored, to lead UMaine in Game 2.

Stevens would stretch the lead to three, with her eighth home run of the season and second solo homer of the afternoon, at the top of the third inning.

The Black Bears added two in the fourth to bring the score to 5-0. Junior pitcher Kylie Sparks helped herself out by singling home Kowalsky after the freshman reached second on a single and a wild pitch. Sparks scored on an error after sophomore outfielder Stephanie Wood advanced her to third on a single of her own.

Sparks was credited with a no decision on the mound for UMaine, after giving up four earned on seven hits, with five punch outs in six innings of work. Her counterpart — UMBC freshman starter Rachel Ionata — also earned a no decision, after giving up five earned on eight hits and seven walks in seven innings for the Retrievers.

UMBC pushed three across, in the bottom half of the fifth, to cut the deficit to two. Chance doubled home two runs, with one gone in the frame after the Retrievers loaded the bases. Junior first baseman Chelsea Bertoglio scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Reinfeld to make it 5-3 heading into the sixth.

The score remained that way until UMBC’s two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh forced extra innings.

Hill replaced Sparks on the mound in the seventh but could not shut the door. O’Malley began the comeback after singling up the middle off the tip of Hill’s glove. She scored on a fielder’s choice after Hall advanced her to third on a double down the right field line. Hall moved to third on Chance’s ground out, setting the table for Reinfeld’s game-tying RBI double to left center.

Both Hill and Brown — UMBC’s game one starter, who replaced Ionata after the seventh — made it through the eighth unscathed before the Black Bears’ six-run explosion at the top of the ninth.

Kane plated two more, with another single to begin the rally, after sophomore utility player EmJ Fogel and Stevens reached on a single and a walk, respectively. Burk brought Kane home on a single through the left side before stealing second and scoring a run of her own on another single by senior catcher Jenny MacDowell. Hill would help herself out with a two-run double to center to bring the score to 11-5.

Hill earned the win for UMaine after blowing the save in the seventh. The junior gave up three earned in three innings of work, with two strikeouts and a walk, to record her second victory of the season.

Bertoglio finished the game for UMBC after Brown failed to record an out in the ninth. Brown was hit with the loss after surrendering six earned on five hits in one inning.

The Retrievers would push two across in the bottom half to bring the score to 11-7 but could not come all the way back.

The two teams combined to strand 17 base runners in Game 2 after stranding just eight collectively in Game 1.

UMaine Plates Two in Final Inning to take Series Finale 7-6

Hill’s two-run home run at the top of the seventh propelled the Black Bears to their second straight victory on Sunday. The junior finished 2-4, with three RBI on the day, to lead UMaine to the 7-6 win while freshman outfielder Danielle O’Neill recorded two hits and three RBI of her own to lead the Retrievers.

The Black Bears began the scoring for the third-straight game, after Wood’s leadoff double put her in scoring position right off the bat. Wood was brought home on Kane’s sacrifice fly to left field to make it 1-0 two batters later after Fogel’s double advanced her to third.

The score remained 1-0 in favor of UMaine until O’Neill’s first collegiate home run — a three-run shot — put UMBC up by two in the bottom half of the third inning after Hall reached on an error and Bertoglio drew a walk from Sparks.

The Black Bears responded quickly, with three runs in the top of fourth, to recapture the lead. Kane doubled to begin the rally and was immediately brought home after Burk’s triple to right field. Hill scored Burk to tie it up, with a single through the right side, and was brought home two batters later on another single by Sparks to make it 4-3 in favor of UMaine.

Sparks earned the win on the mound to go along with her second RBI of the weekend. The junior allowed four earned runs on nine hits and struck out three in the win for UMaine while Brown took the loss for UMBC. Brown, who earned the decision in all three games against the Black Bears over the weekend, went the full seven innings, allowing six earned on 11 hits in Sunday’s contest.

The Retrievers tied the game at four in the bottom half of the fourth on an RBI single by Bertoglio after freshman designated player Jane Pardo and Hall reached on a bloop single to right and a walk, respectively.

Sparks and Brown held the offenses scoreless until Stevens’ RBI groundout scored MacDowell in the top of the sixth inning to put UMaine back on top 5-4.

Bertoglio answered once again for UMBC in the bottom half, driving home O’Malley on a single down the left-field line after the freshman reached on a one-out double to left off of Bogdanovich, who had replaced Sparks to begin the inning. Both Bogdanovich and Spoehr worked an inning of relief for the Black Bears, combining to allow one earned run on four hits.

Hill untied it with her two-run homer in the top of the seventh to give UMaine the 7-5 lead after Burk led off with a single to left. The Retrievers would plate one more in the bottom half to make it 7-6 on an RBI single by freshman outfielder Jordan Sganga, but they could not complete the comeback after Sparks reentered the game on the mound to close out the game.

UMBC travels to New Jersey to take on Saint Peter’s University for a doubleheader March 27. The Black Bears return home to host the University of Albany April 6-7.

As the University of Maine women’s hockey team is beginning offseason workouts, they are focusing their attention on building on what they established in the final few games of 2013.

After falling 2-1 to the University of New Hampshire in the final game of the regular season Feb. 24, the Black Bears traveled to play the then No.3 Boston College for a Hockey East Quarterfinal matchup on March 1.

Though slated as huge underdogs coming in, UMaine held a 1-0 lead for 50 minutes, before BC stormed back to capture a 2-1 overtime victory. Senior goaltender Brittany Ott recorded 72 saves to pace the Black Bears, eclipsing her previous school record of 69 stops.

Despite their 5-24-4 record entering the contest — which includes a 0-3 mark against BC — UMaine head coach Maria Lewis said her team felt confident facing the much higher touted Eagles. Even though she was proud of her team for battling until the very end, Lewis said there was extreme disappointment following the loss because of how close the final outcome was and how much her squad believed they could get it done when they started the game.

“I think that, until the game was over, we actually thought we were going to win it,” Lewis said. “I think everybody felt pretty confident that we were going to win it.

“BC was the opponent where we were hitting rock bottom against this year,” she added. “We had been improving so much since [the series against BC, Nov. 31 to Dec.1, when they were outscored 17-2 in two games] and then coming off the Skating Strides game where we did lose, but there were a lot of good things out of that game — going back there, there was a lot of excitement and a feeling that we might be able to pull it off.”

The Black Bears finished 2-17-3 against Hockey East opponents. If their performance against BC is any indication, the youth who comprised this season’s roster hold significant of potential for success in coming seasons.

UMaine will have a young team again in 2013-14, with six incoming freshmen and nine sophomores making up the core of the team. Lewis is losing four seniors: Ott, forward Brittany Dougherty, defender and captain Chloe Tinkler, and goaltender Kylie Smith.

Dougherty will leave UMaine as a member of the exclusive 100-point club, after her goal against UNH on Feb. 23. She finishes with 46 goals and 54 assists, an accomplishment that is made even more impressive by the fact that she only totaled 9 points during her freshman season.

Ott’s 5-16-3 record is a sizeable drop off from the previous season, but the senior netminder was named the Women’s Hockey East Association Defensive Player of the Week three separate times this year and kept the Black Bears in many games. Her school record of 72 saves in one game is not likely to be broken anytime soon.

“She gave us every single chance to win the game, and I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Lewis said of Ott’s quarterfinal performance against the Eagles.

Tinkler, who played in every single game during her four seasons with the Black Bears, finished with 5 goals and 28 assists after anchoring the UMaine blue line with two goals and eight assists this season.

Smith finishes 2013 with a 0-2 record in five appearances for UMaine. Although she received limited ice time in her career, Lewis called Smith “one of the most focused competitors,” adding that what she brought to the team will be sorely missed.

Lewis believes this season’s disappointing record should not take away from the legacy of this year’s graduating class.

“[They] changed the program,” she said. “They’re the ones that are a part of the best season this program has ever had, and you can’t take that away from them. They’re the ones that got this program out of the doldrums, the ones that turned things around where we do get respect from our opponents now. That’s pretty special if you ask me.”

It will be up to the remaining roster and the six incoming freshmen to fill those roles moving forward.

Redshirt freshman Meghann Treacy will be the favorite to takeover Ott’s duties in net, something Lewis says she is more than capable of doing.

“The one thing [Treacy] hasn’t had yet is the pressure game; the one where you have to make every save and be spectacular on top of it,” Lewis said. “We’ll see how she handles it. Hopefully Treacy can make that transition and feels more seasoned, more like a veteran than a young kid.”

Lewis says the door is wide open for anybody to step in and fill the spots left by Dougherty — the team’s leading scorer — and Tinkler — the team’s captain. Lewis doesn’t want to take away from previous recruiting classes, but she says she is optimistic about the incoming class, given their heightened level of experience coming into college.

“It all depends on how quickly the freshmen can adjust,” she said. “I think we need to take it one step at a time and not get ahead of ourselves and just work to improve throughout the year. We’ll start from there and see where it takes us.”

This year’s squad didn’t live up to the high expectations set by the success of last year’s team, but Lewis said a lot of lessons were learned this year, and the bright spots — like the Black Bears’ 4-3 comeback victory against Bemidji State on Nov. 9 –— will not be forgotten.

“Unfortunately, what I’m going to remember most are the struggles, but I think you have to go through that in order to grow,” she said. “You have to go through that in order to get better and learn.

“I think a positive is that they learned that they have to come together in order to find success,” she continued. “I think when they started to realize how important that was, we started to play so much better.”

The third-year head coach added that her team now knows it is capable of playing with anyone in the country when they perform up to their ability. The issue moving forward for a team filled with so many underclassmen will be finding that consistency night in and night out, something that plagued them throughout this season.

One thing is certain for this young Black Bear team: There is only room for improvement.

“I can’t wait to get a second crack at it,” Lewis said. “I would think that people are excited for next year — kind of a fresh start and a chance to put this year behind us and utilize all the lessons we learned, apply them and turn things around quickly and put a winning season together.”