Sports

UMaine field hockey secures No. 3 seed with win over Vermont

Posted on Oct. 30, 2011, at 8:58 p.m.

On the same day that the University of Maine field hockey team acknowledged their seven seniors, the Black Bears locked up the No. 3 seed in the America East tournament with a 4-0 victory over the University of Vermont.

Senior defender Lelia Sacré starred, scoring three of four UMaine goals.

“You always hope to score, but at the end of the day as long as our team gets the goal, it doesn’t really matter,” Sacré said. “It’s just a bonus that I scored three.”

The pre-game ceremony was emotional, with head coach Josette Babineau sharing a moment with each member of her first UMaine recruiting class. The festivities may have been a factor in the Black Bears’ sluggish start to the game.

“It’s hard for the seniors because they’ve done a good job not thinking about it being their last year,” Babineau said. “It seemed like their first touch was a little bit off at the beginning, but the second half took us back to reality. We needed this win to secure a higher spot in the playoffs.”

UMaine freshman defender Zoe Berkey saved a goal with 10 minutes left in the first half after Vermont freshman forward Ashley Brown beat senior goalie Brittany Fleck. Berkey managed to get her stick down and stop the ball before it crossed the goal line.

The Black Bears looked sloppy in the first half, with multiple passes rolling astray, giving up chances on their penalty corners.

The second half was a different story for the Black Bears. It took less than 2 minutes in the second frame for UMaine to take the lead, and just over 5 minutes to put the game out of reach for the Catamounts at 3-0.

“I told them it was a little bit choppy,” Babineau said. “We’d make the correct passes but we’d just be standing and waiting to receive the ball. Then we’d scan to make the next decision rather than having it happen ahead of time.”

Sacré put the first two in, the first off a penalty corner and the second, 2 minutes later, off a penalty stroke.

Freshman forward Holly Stewart scored the third UMaine goal of the game and her 12th of the season after senior midfielder Jocelyn Mitchell crossed the ball in to her.

Sacré completed a memorable senior day after scoring her third goal in the game’s 52nd minute off another corner.

The Black Bears put the pressure on the Catamounts in the second half, putting 15 shots toward the cage while taking nine penalty corners, capitalizing on two of them.

With the win, the Black Bears enter the America East Conference tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 Boston University in the semifinals. If they win, they play the winner between No. 4 University of Albany and host team University of New Hampshire.

“I think it’s just a good position to not go into the tournament in last, and get to play that semifinal against the 2-seed,” said senior midfielder Stephanie Gardiner. “BU was a closer game for us and that will be a better game because we’ll have fewer nerves.”

With the way the regular season played out, the Black Bears may have to avenge both AEC losses to earn their spot in the national tournament.

“I go in wanting redemption,” Sacré said. “We always like being the underdogs, because we always perform a little bit better.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 30th, 2011, 8:58 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.