Second-year forward Anetra Byfield ended the Black Bears’ two-game losing streak with her goal 5:26 into the game versus Bryant last Friday, Sept. 9. Byfield’s second goal of the season was the only goal UMaine needed en route to their third shutout of the season. Maine carried the 1-0 lead into halftime, a margin they held onto until first-year midfielder Kaitlyn Ball ripped one past Bryant’s fourth-year goalkeeper Kaylan Conrad, giving the game its final score of 2-0. Maine improves to 4-2-0 on the season while Bryant falls to 3-4-0, their third loss in a row.
It did not take long for Maine to get on the scoreboard. It had been 219 minutes of play since they last celebrated a goal. Byfield streaked down the right side of the field to receive a cross from first-year back Shannon Armitage. A well-placed lob from Byfield beat Bryant’s Conrad to give Maine the go-ahead goal. Maine’s first-year goalkeeper Annalena Kriebisch, saw only two shots on net for the whole half. Headed into the second, Maine trailed Bryant in shots 4-5 as well as shots on net 1-2. In the first half, Maine failed to capitalize on seven corner kicks.
The second goal of the game came in the 69th minute when Ball stepped on two defenders within striking distance. Bryant’s defense took the bait and Ball was able to muscle her way past them and tuck one past Conrad, netting the only insurance goal of the game. The goal was Ball’s second of the season. With this goal, Ball earned Maine’s top scoring title with two goals and two assists. She is followed closely by fourth-year Theresa Gosch (two goals, one assist) and Byfield (two goals, zero assists).
Kriebisch saw her last two shots on goal in the second half to complete her third shutout of the season. Her season save percentage rounds out to 0.897, saving 26 of 29 shots on net. On the other side of the pitch, Maine went 2 out of 5 on goals to shots-on-net, not generating a whole lot of offense, but making their shots count when they got them. Their eight total shots were spread over five different players. Maine also accumulated 11 fouls throughout 90 minutes.
After the game versus Bryant, Maine has accrued nine total goals this season compared to three total goals against. They have also amassed a total of 62 shots (36 on net) compared to a total of 73 (29 on net) shots against.
Bryant will play again on Friday, Sept. 16 against Binghamton in New York.
Maine falls in shutout game against URI
Only one of third-year forward Taylor Ross’ two goals were necessary for the University of Rhode Island (URI) to obtain a win last Sunday versus UMaine. Ross was the only player to affect the score board in a game that was thoroughly dominated by URI. The 2-0 loss brings Maine down to 4-3-0 on the season while improving URI to 2-3-2.
After a scoreless first half, the game needed some scoring action. On one of URI’s six corner kicks, third-year forward Donika Murray lobbed the ball to second-year midfielder Svana Hermannsdottir who then headed the ball to Ross. Ross made quick work of Kriebisch and tallied her first goal of the game at the 70th minute mark. Thirteen minutes later, Ross found the back of the net again on a lead pass from third-year midfielder Jennifer Mencos, giving the game its final score of 2-0. This competition was Ross’ first multi-point game, giving her a career high of two goals in a single game. It was also Ross’ first game winning shot of her career.
Rhode Island managed to tally 20 shots (10 on net) with eight of them coming in the second half. Maine, on the other hand, had trouble generating any sort of offense. Maine only managed to record a single shot in the second half. URI’s fourth-year goalkeeper Katie Nickles managed to save all of Maine’s three total shots on net. This one-sidedness is something Maine has seen often this season. The match was the fifth game in a row that involved a shutout and only two of them were in Maine’s favor.
Third-year forward Genaya Loftis was Maine’s statistic leader versus URI, registering two shots on goal. It was Loftis’ fourth start of the season. She has logged six shots on goal this year. After her performance at URI, Loftis moves up to the second highest number of shots on goal for UMaine, only following Byfield with nine. Byfield was the only other player to record a shot on goal versus URI.
URI had a much more diverse stat sheet. Ten different players recorded a shot and seven players recorded a shot on goal. Ross’ three shots on net was the game’s high, followed closely by fourth-year midfielder Nicole Brennan with two.
The 20 shots Kriebisch faced from the URI onslaught was the most she faced all season. She made eight saves, the most she’s made this season. Kriebisch is one of two players to have participated in all minutes of play this season, the other player being third-year midfielder Kendra Ridley.
UMaine faces the University of Vermont (UVM) after a bye week. It is Maine’s first home game since late August. It is also the first game women’s soccer will play within the America East conference. UVM is currently 3-2-1. They lost to URI 2-1 earlier this month. Kickoff versus UVM is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Sept. 25.
