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The University of Maine field hockey team lost in the America East Championship game on Saturday in Boston. The Black Bears fell for the second time in six days to conference champion Boston University.
The first half was a defensive battle between the conference’s two best defensive teams.
Neither team scored a goal in the first 59 minutes of play. It was an Ashley Parker goal for BU that put them up 1-0 with just over 10 minutes to play in the game.
The Black Bears tried to fight back, but suffered another blow when Sarah Shute put the Terriers up 2-0 with just under eight minutes to play. The Black Bears had just one shot on goal in the first half and got a second with 4:52 remaining, but this time they made it count.
Freshman Nicole Emery scored off of a pass from junior Joanna Fernandes on the Black Bears only penalty corner opportunity of the game. Their excitement did not last for long, as Shute would hit her second goal of the game just 14 seconds later, securing her team with its fifth conference championship in school history, 3-1.
The Black Bears, making their fifth straight trip to the America East tournament, were competing in their third America East Championship game in the past four years.
On Friday, to earn the right to play in that game, the Black Bears defeated Albany 1-0 on a late Gina Legge goal, the second of the season for the junior midfielder.
The Black Bears had lost to Northeastern in each of their previous four appearances in the tournament. This year, with Northeastern no longer a member of the conference, it was BU that stood in the Black Bears’ way. Although the teams shared the regular season conference title, in the two contests between the teams, the Terriers outscored the Black Bears 6-2, beating UMaine both times.
Meagan Connolly, Rebecca Giroux, and Gina Legge were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
On Thursday night, the Black Bears received a few other accolades at the conference annual awards banquet. UMaine coach Terry Kix was selected as America East Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her 15 years at the helm of the Black Bears. The last time Kix won the award was 2002.
Connolly was named Conference Defender of the Year. Kasey Spencer joined Connolly on the All-Conference first team, while freshman Kim McDonald, Fernandes and senior Shaunessy Saucier were all named to the conference second team. McDonald and Katy Lepage were both named to the America East All-Rookie squad.
The Black Bears finished the season with a 13-7 overall record and 4-1 mark in the conference regular season. BU finished with the same 4-1 mark and had a 15-5 overall record.
With the conference championship, the Terriers have earned the right to play for a spot in the NCAA tournament. They will play the Champion of the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday, in a play-in game. The winner will go to the NCAA tournament, somewhere the Terriers have not been since 2001.
