Sports

Di Ielsi, Hodgson lead Bears

By Steven McCarthy

Posted on Sept. 10, 2009, at 1:30 a.m.

Replacing Jasmine Phillips, who holds every school goalkeeping record, may not be a seamless transition for the University of Maine women’s soccer team.

Since graduating in May, Phillips has joined 11th year coach Scott Atherley’s staff to assist freshman keeper Meagan Price-Leibenzeder, the emerging starter ahead of junior Elizabeth Deletetsky and freshman Iris Gunnarsdottir.

“Very high standards to live up to,” Price-Leibenzeder said of Phillips. “She’s a great coach, great person. I’m not going to try and beat her. I just do my best. Everyone’s been pretty accepting.”

Price-Leibenzeder and the Black Bears are four games into their quest to return to the America East Conference Tournament for the seventh consecutive season and in senior captain Cristina Di Ielsi’s mind, even farther.

“I know a lot of us want to win it,” Di Ielsi said. “We’ll take each game one by one and hopefully make it to the playoffs.”

Di Ielsi and senior co-captain Anjelica Hodgson will lead a squad that returns eight of its top ten scorers from the 2008 club that finished 6-6-7 and lost in the America East Tournament semi-finals to NCAA tournament participant Boston University. The Black Bears were selected sixth among the conference’s nine teams in the America East Preseason Coaches’ poll.

“Me and [Di Ielsi] are really looking forward to the challenge this season of bringing the team back to previous glory,” Hodgson said.

Nine listed on the 24-member roster are freshmen, but the youth are complemented with six seniors.

“They [Di Ielsi and Hodgson] have a perspective that’s different than anybody else on our team,” Atherley said. “They understand what it takes. They know what the mentality should be. Our hope is that they’re able to really parlay that to the rest of the team.”

UMaine graduated leading scorer Christine LaBelle (5 goals, 1 assist) and Kim Stephenson (0 and 2), but senior striker-turned-midfielder Laura Martel began the season healthy after missing seven games last season with a knee injury and garnered last week’s America East Player of the Week honors because of a two-goal performance Sunday against Iona in the Black Bears’ home opener.

“What we try to take advantage of with [Martel] is her athleticism,” Atherley said. “If we need to put her up top, we know that if she gets behind somebody, she’s going to cause a lot of problems because of her speed.”

Martel was the team’s fourth leading scorer last year. She tallied all three of her goals in the season opener against Sacred Heart University.

Junior Kelsey Wilson missed four games in 2008 with a quad injury and has returned to form as a defensive midfielder who also takes corner kicks.

“We’re glad to have those two back, and we’re just integrating everybody into the mix, and I’m really happy with our team so far,” Hodgson said.

An experienced core of backs will protect Price-Leibenzeder as she becomes acclimated to playing at the college level. Hodgson, Di Ielsi, and senior Hailey Blackburn were members of the 2006 team that advanced to the America East Tournament Championship Game and were ranked 22nd in the nation. Sophomores Sady Tobin and Kaitlyn MacIsaac saw regular playing time as freshmen.

“[Price-Leibenzeder] is very comfortable for a freshman,” Di Ielsi said. “She is communicating with the team.”

“We do have an experienced group of defenders,” Hodgson added. “We know that we do have a freshman goalkeeper, but we have faith in her, and we’re just doing what we do, day in and day out.”

Up front, sophomore Carolyne Nellis and senior Veronique Fleury, the Black Bears’ second and third leading scorers respectively from last season are joined by junior Hannah Breton and freshman Josee Descoeurs, who has impressed Atherley.

Other freshmen Atherley says have made an immediate impact are midfielders Maddie Hill and Stephanie Frenette-Blais. They will play alongside senior Alli Krous, junior Ashley Diver and sophomore Courtney Harnais.

“[Frenette-Blais] has proven to be very versatile,” Atherley said. “[Hill] is really starting to come into her own and be a threat from midfield going forward, and playing dangerous passes through the midfield.”

The Black Bears (1-2-1) will face three more non-conference opponents before kicking off their conference schedule with a home matchup against the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Sept. 27. UMaine handed Idaho State University just their sixth loss at home in the last four years, and fell short against perennial soccer power Dartmouth College 3-1.