ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine women's soccer team will hit the road for the first time in 2017 when it travels to Providence on Friday, Aug. 25 to battle the Bears of Brown. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the Ivy League Network.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Maine Black Bears at Brown Bears
DATE: Friday, Aug. 25, 2017
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Stevenson-Pincince Field – Providence, R.I. (artificial surface)
2017 RECORDS: Maine 0-0-1, Brown 0-0
VIDEO: ESPN3; Ivy League Network
LIVE STATS: BrownBears.com
TWITTER: @BlackBearSoccer
 
About the Black Bears
• Maine played its first match of 2017 on Sunday afternoon, battling LIU Brooklyn through regulation and double overtime for a final 0-0 tie at Mahaney Diamond.
• The Black Bears outshot the visitors, 21-12, and had a 6-4 edge in shots on goal and a 13-1 edge in corner kicks.
• Sophomore Annalena Kriebisch made four saves for her fourth career shutout
• Maine returns its second-leading scorer from a season ago in sophomore Kaitlyn Ball, who had two goals and three assists for seven points during her rookie campaign.
• Three players who started all 16 contests in 2016 are also back in seniors Kendra Ridley and Amy Falkin and junior Mikayla Morin; Ridley led the team in minutes played last year with 1,467.
• In goal, Maine brings back both goaltenders in junior Samantha Cobotic (3-6-3; 3 shutouts; .806 save percentage; 1.29 goals against average) and Kriebisch (4-3-0; 3 SO; .872 sv%; .71 GAA).
 
About Brown
• The Bears, who will be playing in their first match of the season, went 9-2-5 and finished second in the Ivy League in 2016.
• Brown returns a strong defensive unit with the unanimous 2016 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in goal with Christine Etzel, a First Team All-Ivy honoree at center back in Maclaine Lehan and an All-Ivy Honorable Mention center back in Nicole Phillips.
• Etzel recorded a .361 goals against average, .921 save percentage and 10 shutouts in 2016.
• Up top, the Bears have Honorable Mention All-Ivy forward Celia Story, who was second on the team with seven points on three goals and one assist.
• Kia McNeill enters her second season at the helm of the Bears after leading the squad to its best finish in the league standings since 1994.
 
The Series with Brown
• This is the sixth meeting between Brown and Maine, with the Bears holding an all-time series lead of 4-1 over the Black Bears.
• The teams last met one Sept. 25, 2007 in Providence, with the hosts dropping Maine, 2-0
• Maine's win came on Sep. 20, 2006 in a 1-0 affair in Providence.
 
About Head Coach Scott Atherley
• Now in his 25th season as a head coach in the NCAA, Scott Atherley is entering his 19th season as the Maine women's soccer program's head coach.
• Atherley has led the Black Bears to five-straight America East postseason tournaments and to 13 of the last 14 overall.
• In 1993, Atherley became head coach of the UMaine men's team and took on head coaching duties of the women's team in 1999, coaching both squads that year.
• Atherley was a four-year letter-winner at UMaine between 1984 and 1987, serving as captain during his final season.
 
First Tie in a Long Time
• Maine's 0-0 tie with LIU Brooklyn in Sunday's season-opener marked the first time that the Black Bears have ever had a tie on opening day.
• It was also the program's first tie since a 1-1 affair with rival New Hampshire on Oct. 29, 2015.
• The most ties that Maine has ever had in a season is seven in 2008.
 
Shutting Out the Blackbirds
• Maine's 0-0 affair on Sunday marked the second consecutive shutout against the Blackbirds, as the Black Bears took last year's contest, 2-0.
• Annalena Kriebisch has been in goal for both of those shutouts, making four saves on Sunday for her fourth career shutout and five saves a year ago for her first career clean sheet.
 
International Appeal
• The Black Bears have four different countries represented on the team roster in the United States, Canada, Norway and Germany.
• Maine has three players each that hail from Maine and Connecticut, and one each from New York, Georgia, Florida and New Hampshire.
 • There are three Canadian provinces represented with four players coming from Ontario, three from Nova Scotia and one from Quebec.
• There is a three-payer European contingent, with two players hailing from Norway and one from Germany.
 
Oh Captain, My Captain
• Kendra Ridley will serve as the captain for the Black Bears this season, marking the third-straight year that the Ottawa, Ontario native will wear the armband.
 
Up Next
• The Black Bears return to Mahaney Diamond on Sunday at 2 p.m. to host the Northeastern Huskies of the CAA.
• Maine will hit the road on the final day of August, traveling to Holy Cross for a 7 p.m. match on Thursday, Aug. 31.