ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine women's soccer team returns home on Sunday to take on the Northeastern Huskies of the CAA.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Maine Black Bears vs. Northeastern Huskies
DATE: Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017
TIME: 2 p.m.
SITE: Mahaney Diamond – Orono, Maine (artificial surface)
2017 RECORDS: Maine 0-1-1, Northeastern 2-1-0
VIDEO: AmericaEast.tv
LIVE STATS: GoBlackBears.com
TWITTER: @BlackBearSoccer
 
About the Black Bears
• Maine is coming off a tough, 2-1, overtime loss at Brown on Friday night.
• The Black Bears took a 1-0 lead in the 77th minute on junior Mikayla Morin's first career goal but Brown tied it up five minutes later and then eked out a goal seven minutes into the first overtime period.
• Sophomore Annalena Kriebisch made eight saves for the Black Bears while Morin and sophomores Beate Naglestad and Nicole Bailey all registered a shot on goal.
• It was the first time in the six-game series between Maine and Brown that the winning team did not earn a shutout.
• Maine held Brown without a shot on frame in the first half, marking the first time in nine games (Sept. 21, 2016) that Brown was held without a shot on goal in a full half.
 
About Northeastern
• After starting the season with two-straight shutout wins over Stony Brook (1-0) and Holy Cross (2-0), the Huskies suffered their first defeat of the season on Thursday night, 2-1, at Boston University.
• Northeastern, the defending CAA champion, was unanimously chosen to repeat as the champion in the league's annual preseason coaches' poll.
• Senior midfielder Hannah Lopiccolo, the CAA Presason Player of the Year, leads the team with four points (1-2—4) while junior Hannah Rosenblatt, who led the team in points a season ago (13-4—30), freshman Julianna Ross and junior Eve Goulet each have one goal.
• Ashely Phillips is in her second year at the helm of the Huskies, guiding the team to a 14-7-1 record and CAA title in her first year.
 
The Series with Northeastern
• The Huskies and the Black Bears last squared off in 2015, at Northeastern, with the hosts taking the match, 3-0.
• Northeastern holds a slight edge in the all-time series at 6-5-2.
• Maine has outscored the Huskies by a score of 25-18 in the previous 13 meetings between the two teams.
 
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 the Aug. 20 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 Aug. 20 marked the second consecutive shutout against the Blackbirds, as the Black Bears took last year's contest, 2-0.
• Sophomore Annalena Kriebisch has been in goal for both of those shutouts, making four saves on Aug. 20 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.
 
Black Bear Rewind
• 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 a year ago 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).

Up Next
• 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.