University of Maine
New Hampshire
Wildcats Spoil Maine Field Hockey Senior Day; Win OT Thriller, 3-2
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ORONO, Maine – Despite taking a lead to open the second half of the contest, the University of Maine field hockey team lost an overtime thriller, 3-2, against New Hampshire at the UMaine Field Hockey Complex, Friday afternoon. The loss drops Maine to 10-9 overall and 3-2 in conference, while the Wildcats improved to 7-11 and 4-1 in America East play.
New Hampshire opened the scoring at the 15:14 mark of the first half as Jackie Hozza cashed in on her second goal of the season following a rebound.
The Black Bears answered back just over 15 minutes later as Marissa Shaw, who had been nursing an injury, dove toward the right side of the cage and connected on a pass from Nicole Sevey to make it 1-1.
Maine recorded its first lead of the game at the 36:45 mark, as senior Zoe Berkey scored her second of the season as she took a pass from senior Hannah Keating and fired it past the Wildcat netminder.
The lead didn't stand up however as Lindsey Nerbonne notched her 10th goal of the season as she spun around in the circle and fired the game-tying goal at the 45:50 mark.
The two teams traded punches throughout the contest however it would take an extra frame to find the decisive goal. On a rush, Emma Copagna cashedin on a rebound chance. Maine goalkeeper Emma Cochran thwarted the first Wildcat chance off the insert but Compagna was camped out on the left side of the net and notched the goal, and the game, 3-2.
Cochran got the start in the cage for the Black Bears as she fell to 5-4 overall. The Surrey, British Columbia native made nine saves on 12 shots in the loss. Carlie Tarbell started in net for New Hampshire and improved to 7-11 overall and made six saves on eight shots.
The Wildcats got the better of Maine offensively as they fired 22 shots to Maine's 10. Meanwhile they held a decisive advantage in penalty corners as UNH was awarded nine to Maine's three.
The loss couldn't sour what was a celebration of the careers of seven seniors that have meant a great deal to the program. This group included Annabelle Hamilton, Holly Stewart, Berkey, Keating, Abbey Gutowski, Bri Robertson, and Becca Paradee. These seniors had a great deal to do with the success of the program for the last four years including 47 wins, 256 points, 89 goals and 78 assists.
The seniors and the rest of the Maine field hockey team will have a chance to avenge its loss to UNH, next week when it plays in the opening round of the America East tournament. The semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 6 while the winner of that game will play in the championship on Nov. 9. The tournament site is Albany, N.Y. Check back to GoBlackBears.com for
