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The University of Maine women’s soccer team had a void to fill when reliable center-midfielder Kim Stephenson graduated in May.
The All-America East Conference Second Team selection ranked third in shots for the Black Bears in her senior season and was a key cog defensively, winning 50-50 balls in the middle third. Last year’s senior class finished with an overall record of 37-24-14 and appeared in two America East title games.
Eleventh-year coach Scott Atherley looked to Ontario, the Canadian Province that produced UMaine’s second all-time leading scorer Laura Harper, who graduated in 2008. From the suburbs of Toronto in Brampton, freshman Maddie Hill has given Atherley a scoring threat from the midfield the Black Bears have lacked in recent years. Her proven reliability as a two-way player erased Atherley’s early season uncertainty that forced senior striker Laura Martel to move back from her natural position.
“One of the things that Maddie brings is an ability to maintain possession for us,” Atherley said. “She’s just really smart with her passes, doesn’t give the ball away a lot, and she has good vision and knows when to release the ball.”
Hill leads UMaine freshmen with two goals and one assist for five points. She was honored by America East as the Rookie of The Week after her first career goal was the game winner in a 7-0 blowout of inter-conference opponent University of Maryland Baltimore County on Sept. 27. She has started 14 of UMaine’s 15 games.
“She’s one of the few midfielders that I’ve seen in our conference, and one that we’ve had here in a long time that’s willing to get in advance of the front line,” Atherley said. “As a result, she’s scored a couple of big goals, and got a couple of great assists.”
Boston University and the University of Rhode Island also courted Hill, who was captain and the leading scorer of Ontario League Under-18 Power Burlington Xplosion in 2008. She played for the club through high school. Burlington also developed former UMaine standout back Jordan Pekrul and beat UMaine in a preseason exhibition in 2008.
“The quality of players that are on that team, that represented that team, speaks volumes to the level of the player that’s coming here,” Atherley said.
Hill chose UMaine over the other contenders after enjoying a recruiting visit and noticing the team’s cohesiveness.
“It just seemed like a really good place for me,” Hill said. “It just seemed like it was a good family.”
Hill played in an under-21 league before her first season at UMaine, and Atherley feels Hill’s leadership experience and preparation eased her transition to college soccer.
“To be able to step into that role, at this level, as a first-year player, that’s challenging,” Atherley said. “That’s analogous to walking in and being the quarterback your freshman year.”
Hill felt the physicality of the under-21 league gave her a taste of what the next level would be.
“I played with girls that are already playing at University, so I think it helped prepare me for it,” Hill said.
The role change from team captain to rookie can be awkward, as most of the players on Divison I teams were captains of their high school or club teams.
“At home it’s kind of like when you say something, it means a lot, and here you have to start listening to other people for that,” Hill said.
Atherley see’s Hill as a potential team leader of the Black Bears for the next few years.
“She’s got a lot of leadership qualities,” Atherley said. “She really is kind of an extrovert. She likes to do things for the community and the team, and that’s been part of her past. I see her being that potential person here.”
A veteran back line and seniors Martel and Veronique Fleury up front make Hill’s inevitable rookie mistakes less apparent. Atherley sees consistency and physicality as the areas Hill must develop before becoming an elite player.
“You’ve seen many flashes of brilliance, and it’s just being able to bring that every single day,” Atherley said. “It’s a big adjustment physically. You go against some teams that would just as soon kick you as the ball, and she’s got to get used to that, and being stronger on the ball.”
Hill’s soccer pedigree may be credited to her father, Steven Hill, who played for the Canadian National Team. He was on Canada’s roster for the 1980 Summer Olympics, but the country boycotted the Moscow Games in protest of the 1979 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Her brother plays college soccer in Newcastle, England.
“The things that she does literally take time to really develop,” Atherley said. “You can tell that she’s had that exposure of the game. She does things that we talk about in our veteran players.”
Hill chose the center-mid position early in her career because she feels it best utilizes her abilities.
“I feel it suits the way I like to play best,” Hill said. “I like to play with the ball at my feet, and then running at defenders. Striker just wasn’t the position for me.”
Hill’s athleticism also stems from success in endurance sports that she competed in instead of playing soccer for Mayfield Secondary School’s team. She was a four-time regional champion in cross country, track and Nordic skiing and was named Athlete of The Year in Ontario in 2007 after reaching the Provincial Championships in all three sports. Time permitting, she hopes to compete in ski races this winter but sees more of a future in soccer.
“My first scholarship offer was actually to a Division II school for running,” Hill said. “I never really liked the idea of running every day for four years of my life for a competitive school.”
Hill is majoring in biology and hopes to attend grad school in Europe to obtain a masters degree in physiotherapy or physical therapy. She hopes her four seasons at UMaine won’t be the last of her career and aims to play professionally in Europe or in the United States’ Women’s Professional Soccer League.
