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With their fate in hand, the University of Maine Women’s soccer team came up one win shy of capturing their first America East Conference regular season championship. The Black Bears defeated Albany 4-0 on Thursday and with a loss by league leader Northeastern, we were in position to take the conference championship. However, UMaine lost to Stony Brook 1-0 Saturday, and the entire conference rankings were restructured within one weekend.
“I think any time you accomplish some of the goals that you set out for like qualifying for the tournament, it takes the burden off your back which can be either a good thing or a bad thing.” said coach Scott Atherley.
With the loss UMaine finishes second in the conference for the season and will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The final four will be held at Binghamton, N.Y., who won the regular-season championship with a 6-3 record. UMaine also had a 6-3 record but because of a loss to Binghamton, they lost the tie-breaker. Northeastern was leading the conference but lost to Binghamton and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County over the weekend dropping them from first to fifth in the conference standings. Boston University lost to Binghamton as well and fell from third to fourth. New Hampshire moved into the third spot in the mix.
On Thursday, UMaine faced Albany, and they were victorious by a 4-0 margin. Heather Hathorn led the way for UMaine with a goal and two assists. She set up Laura Harper, who scored in the 44th minute, giving UMaine a 1-0 lead. Early in the second half Hathorn set up teammate Maureen McHugh for a goal, giving UMaine the 2-0 lead. Midway through the second half Hathorn stole a pass and tallied her own goal. The goal was her ninth of the season, and it gave Maine a 3-0 lead. Just for good measure McKayla Bell put a goal away with only 14 seconds left in the match. The scoreless game gives keeper Tanya Adorno her ninth shutout of the season. She didn’t need to make a save with UMaine outshooting Albany 27-2 in overall shots. The loss solidified Albany’s winless season in America East for the second season in a row.
UMaine came into the game with Northeastern needing one win to clinch the conference title and host the conference tournament. The Black Bears found themselves in a frustrating situation. Stony Brook scored early in the match. Victoria Feliciano tallied the goal on a corner kick in the 14th minute. The Black Bears’ attempts to recover the goal were futile despite dominating Stony Brook throughout the second half. In the second half they out shot Stony Brook 9-1. It was an unlucky game for UMaine, who despite outplaying Stony Brook ended up on the short end of the stick.
The Black Bears finished out the regular season with a 12-5-1 record overall and a 6-3 record in the conference. The team set out to legitimately finish in the top four in the conference and get a bye in the first round of the playoffs which they were able to accomplish. They are one goal short of taking the conference title this weekend, but in the playoffs, anything goes.
“Playoffs are playoffs, and anything can happen,” said defensemen Emily Stevens. “I can see us in the championship game.”
UMaine has qualified for the playoffs as the number two seed and will travel to Binghamton, to face the winner of the New Hampshire and Hartford in the semifinals of the America East Tournament on Friday. Although Maine has a one game at a time mentality, it is hard not to look ahead. With a victory, UMaine will play in the America East Championship game Sunday, and with a win in the championship game, they would qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Bangor Daily News