The University of Maine women’s soccer team closed out the America East regular season by defeating rival University of New Hampshire (UNH) on Oct. 31. The 1-0 win secured them the No.1 seed in the America East Championship playoffs and earned them their first-ever regular season title in program history.
Although Maine had not beaten the Wildcats since 2018, the team was calm as they stepped into the highly intense and energetic atmosphere of the match, confident that they could get a victory.
The game’s only goal was achieved in the 24th minute after graduate student midfielder Kristina Kelly drew a penalty kick for the Black Bears. Fourth-year forward Abby Kraemer effortlessly slotted the ball in the bottom right corner to score the game’s lone goal.
“Scoring on UNH is not an easy thing to do and I had never done it before myself,” said Kraemer. “These games are always close so every opportunity on net is so important, so I was super happy to put that one away for the team.”
Kraemer, Kelly and fourth-year defender and captain Myla Schneider have all earned accolades to the America East First-Team. Along with these talented players, third-year forward Jordanne Pinette, fourth-year midfielder Lara Kirkby, fourth-year defender Anna Phillips and graduate student defender Emma Schneider have received second-team honors.
Along with the all-conference honors, Kraemer, Kirkby and Schneider also earned America East All-Academic honors. The seven All-Conference and three All-Academic selections were league highs in America East, as Maine excelled both on and off the field as student athletes.
The Black Bears close out the America East regular season with an undefeated record of 7-0-1 and 22 points.
Associate Head Coach Liis Abbott is ecstatic for the team to finally achieve this title.
”I think it’s great for the girls to get it because they work so hard for it and they really deserve it,” Abbott said, “I think it’s a great stepping stone for the next step which is semi-finals, and hopefully finals.”
The UMaine soccer team made it clear that they are not satisfied with just the regular season title. They are hungry for more and doing everything they can to prepare for the playoffs.
“We are going to prepare like we have been so far and take a look at the UNH game so that we can be better than our last game,” Abbott said, when asked about the tactics going into the next match. “The cool thing is, I think our team always plays better when there’s something on the line. I’m really excited for them to show their best since the circumstances will require that.”
Maine will be hosting the America East Championship semi-final game at Mahaney Diamond on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. against the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The winner will advance to the championship match on Sunday Nov. 10.
